Duel of Time
by Lilyvess
Summary: Kael begins a brand new adventure with his friends as he enters the Duel of Time. this story is based off of original characters. read my profile for more details on the characters.
1. Prologue

A Prologue…

-A Long Night-

"Kael."

"Kael!"

"KAEL!"

"I think he's asleep, Ms. Espinoza."

"Asleep? For crying out loud, what is wrong with that child? Ok, everyone in the front row duck your heads."

Kael is jerked awake from the piece of chalk that hits his forehead. The chalk ricochets off his head and into the air above him. Kael jerks up; quickly and roughly pushing his seat back in a messy, clumsy motion as he instinctively stands up.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Kael mindlessly states as his mind kick starts. He looks around at his classmates, who quietly laugh at his fumbling maneuver. His teacher on the other hand is fuming with anger over the distraction, before the chalk falls back onto his head for a second impact.

"Mr. Croubur, were you sleeping in my class again?" the teacher, a middle aged, brown-haired woman, asks. She attempted to hide as much of her anger as she could but it was obvious to everyone in the classroom that she was furious at the poor child.

"Yes, I was Ms. Espinoza," Kael replies, knowing from experience that honesty will lessen the punishment in the long run.

"Why were you sleeping? Is my class boring?"

"No, it's just that I didn't get much sleep last night. I spent all night at the junk yard-"

"-So you're saying that you have too much time."

"No, that's not what I meant!"

"That is what I think you meant. If you have too much time I think I can give you something to do Mr. Croubur." Kael's face pales with the realization of his walking straight into the trap his teacher had set. He watches helplessly as the teacher opens the book and begins, "Meet me after school for detention and on top of the regular homework I think you would have more than enough time to also do problems 41-81 odd, wont you?"

"Yes, Ms. Espinoza," Kael responds in defeat. He moves to sit down, this time attempting to pay attention as much as possible and resisting all temptation to place his head down in a comfortable position.

Kael was a little frustrated about having more work, but felt it was a minor price to pay for the work of art he finished the night before. Thinking about the work of art sends his mind into a dream trance, one that inspires him for more works. It is less than a minute after being yelled at by the teacher that Kael is once again scribbling scratchy drawings to contain his inspiration, completely ignoring the lesson at hand.

After detention, Kael finally leaves the school ground, a full forty minutes late. Waiting for him outside the school gates is a young child. The youthful child is anywhere from 9-12 years of age, large for an elementary school student but small for a middle school student. He wears baggy shorts as well as a black shirt. His notable piece of clothing is the couple sizes too large faded red jacket. The jacket is one of his most precious possessions, was handed down from his father. His hair is long, brown and messy, over due for a haircut and clearly not taken care of.

"What happened, KC? You get in trouble again?" the young browned haired child asks with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah I did. Fell asleep in Ms. Espinoza's class again," Kael answers with a chuckle, running a hand through his dirty, black hair.

"You went on a junk yard run, didn't you!?" Omega shouts, more excited than accusing.

"What can I say? When you have inspiration, everything else comes second."

"Can I see it?!?"

"Sure I'll show it to you once we get home."

"You know Lily is going to kill you for being late."

"Yeah, but there isn't much we can do about that at this point."

"So what's this work you made?" The natural curiosity makes the kid glow and beam with eagerness at this new mystery.

"Well it all started with a toothpick…" Kael continues on with the conversation about his newest work of art as they walk. The destination is obvious in their minds; F&F's card shop.

F&F's was easily the best card store in town, known for its cheap, easy cards and friendly environment. The store stood near the center of downtown, in between the schools and KC's home, making it an easy location for the kids to meet during their walk home.

The store could hardly be called a store as it was closer to a warehouse instead. It was large and filled primarily with multiple tables, each containing large cardboard boxes that held thousands and thousands of cards. The store was semi-organized, as it had been organized at one point but now the size had become so large that no one was willing to go through the work to organize all the cards. Most of the cards were so old that no one could remember what the use for them was, but every now and then someone would find something usable.

The store itself seemed large, with its spacious area but lacked the most basic necessities. It lacked the most basic lighting, giving it a dark, musky feel. The store also lacked any air conditioning; its only cooling system was the few fans around the store, making the entire store hot during the summer. This dark, heated room for a store was the best card shop in town.

The store was run by two old geezers, a man and a woman, who had started the business many years ago. The two would often bicker about various non-important subjects ranging from pricing to weather to fruits. Both owners were once duelists, a long time ago, but they were part of a long forgotten generation.

After around thirty minutes of fast walking, the two children go inside the almost warehouse like store as if it were their second home.

"Hey Senpai, we made it!" Kael manages to get out in between panting breaths as the two friends attempt to rest for a moment.

In the far back of the store are three dirty white tables. These plastic tables, unlike the ones in front, don't have cartons and cartons of cards; they instead are empty with nothing on them. These are the tables where all the duels in the store are held.

It was there that Lily was having a table top duel with another regular to the store. Table top gaming, while rendered obsolete due to the invention of duel disks, was a more space efficient way to play the game. Playing the old fashioned way also helped make games go faster while also making one have to pay more attention because the computer wasn't there to pick up slack.

The two duelists seem to be approaching the end of the match by the look on Lily's posture. Lily was just sitting with her arms around her chest, her body straight and tall with the form and attention one sees commonly in a commander or a chief officer of the army.

"You dimwits are late. Again," The fourteen year old girl states bluntly with a hint of anger. She doesn't even turn her head to face them while she speaks.

Omega laughs childishly before speaking to his senpai, "Why, were you worried about us?"

Lily just snorts at the comment but her eyes never leave the table. She even manages to reply and continue playing her game flawlessly at the same time. "Yeah, I was worried you losers might actually appear. I had hoped that someone answered my prayers and ran you guys over for jay walking again."

The two children laugh at her comment casually, "You know it would take more than a car to separate us from you," Kael replies.

Lily takes a moment before responding as she turns over a trap card and reveals a card in her hand, earning a groan of defeat from her opponent. She quickly gathers her cards off the table and stands before finally facing the two children with one hand on her hip.

Lily isn't bad looking by any standards. She always kept herself physically fit with her side hobby of tennis. In fact it was a known fact that if it wasn't for her personality she could have a boyfriend by now. It was because of her almost self-centered attitude and goal oriented view on life that many of her own classmates could hardly stand being next to her. Many questioned which was worse, the fact that she was always so arrogant or the fact that she could back it up.

"So what was the hold up?"

"Kael was caught sleeping in class again!"

"Hey! I thought you were supposed to be on my side!"

"Kael!" Lily shouts with an angry clenched fist in front of her.

"Urk!"

"Is this true?" Lily walks closer to the now apprehensive boy.

"Well, uhhh.... yes." Lily quickly moves close and smacks Kael in the back of the head. Omega laughs at his poor friend's misfortune.

Kael then remembers the main reason he came here.

"Oh yeah! By the way, Ms. Fonseca, did my package come in today?" Kael asks politely to the old lady while rubbing his now sore head.

"Let me think…" the old woman says. She waits a moment as she searches her ever diminishing memory. Her eyes light up and she raises her hand sharply. "Yes, now I remember, the package did come in today."

Old Lady Fonseca then walks over to the back of the store in search of Kael's package; Kael meanwhile patiently waits at the front.

"I didn't know you ordered a package?" Lily asks, having heard nothing about any package.

"Yeah, Old Lady Fonseca said she could help get me a few of my art supplies for cheap." Kael responds.

"Ahh, here you go young lad." Old Lady Fonseca shouts as she appears out of the back of the building carrying a long wrapped package. She walks behind the register before passing it to Kael, who digs into his pockets and begins searching for cash. "No, no it's fine. This one's on the house."

"Really?" Kael asks. His face brightens up at the kindness of the Old Lady's gesture.

"Of course, it was no problem."

"You're too kind for your own good. *cough* your going to make us bankrupt with your kindness." Old Man Figueroa shouts at the Co-Owner. The old bald man comes closer on his wheel chair. He takes a spare shoe lying on the table and throws it at the old lady, but doesn't even come close to hitting her.

"You're not wearing your glasses old man." Old Lady Fonseca comments on the poor old man's accuracy.

"Quiet you, I don't need any glasses."

"Come on, you two, enough fighting." A lady in her mid thirties appears. The woman, Ms. Kiya, works for the two old owners. If it weren't for Kiya's guidance, it is very doubtful whether the shop could stay open.

Kael meanwhile has stopped listening to the two friends bicker amongst each other and places the package into his back pack.

"Hey lets go get some food, I'm starving!" Kael exclaims, his hands gripping his stomach as he speaks.

"Me too!" Omega shouts, already racing towards the door. Kael begins walking behind the hyper kid but looks behind to find Lily hesitating.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is fine." Lily responds quietly but still clearly bothered.

"Well then, come on!" Kael said.

They walk next door to where The Marin's is. The Marin's is a small burger joint next to F&F's run by an equally old man.

"Are those two old fools fighting again?" Old Man Marin asks with a cheery smile. The old man stands behind the counter. He still has a head full of nice, well tamed hair and the wrinkles of old age only help magnify the happy look on his face.

Old Man Marin was best friends with Old Man Figueroa and Old Lady Fonseca back in school. They were such great friends that they all decided to open business next to each other to be closer together. Though the stores are technically separate it can be hard to tell the differences from where one ends and the other begins with frequent fusion of prizes and deals and appearances from the other store.

"Of course they are." Kael laughs at the predictability of his friends in the other store. He walks forward to the counter and speaks out his order without even glancing at the menu. "Can u get me a couple of rice balls please? Tuna would be perfect. No, wait I want salmon. No, make that Seaweed!"

Old Man Marin was already half way to the rice balls, knowing Kael would want rice balls, but was forced to sit and wait for the young boy to finish "Make up your mind already!"

"Give me one of each!" Kael states placing a hand on his chin feeling very accomplished with his creative solution to the problem.

Old Man Marin passes Kael the rice balls, who exchanges money in return. Omega comes forward next, "Can I get crunchy tempura roll?"

Omega trades his money for the delicious food delight.

"I'd like a sandwich and a bottle of water…" Lily states while searching her bag for her money to pay with. Lily's voice dies down as she finds her wallet but only to discover it contained lint inside. Lily's eyes narrow as they stare at the lack of money in her wallet like it was a magic jewel that captivated her.

"Is there something wrong?" Old Man Marin asks patiently but Lily doesn't reply.

"Lily, are you ok?" Kael asks his friend when he notices her strange stalling.

"I think Lily doesn't have enough money." This time Omega comments as he peeks into her wallet, noticing the lack of money. Lily quickly shields the wallet from outside view.

"Its ok, Lily. You can just borrow some from us this time."

"Yeah, I'll let you share sempai!"

"Its no problem, we'll just put it on the house, unless you really want to pay it back. The 'National Bank of Marin' is always open to help out those in needs" Omega, Kael and Old Man Marin all declare at in succession with honest sincerity.

Lily doesn't feel the love, instead feeling barraged and surrounded by their pity. Lily is a strong proud woman, one who takes pride in her ability to stand on her own two feet. Here is Lily in a moment of weakness, and although her friends are attempting to help her, Lily doesn't want help. Lily doesn't want to need help and doesn't want to be seen as weak and yet her she stands with both.

Lily doesn't look at them, instead pushing her wallet back in her bag before whispering quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard.

"I'm sorry, I'm not hungry anymore."

Lily then rushes out of the shop without another word.

"Wait! Lily!" Omega calls out, unable to stop her from running out.

Kael watches in her wake, sorrowfully looking at the door she ran through. He knows this is about more than just borrowing money and hurting her pride. "Omega, wait here and take care of my stuff, I'm going to go get her."

Kael races after his friend before Omega can reply. He makes it outside the Marin's but can't catch sight of her. He isn't demoralized as he has a fairly good idea of where she is going. Kael decides to stop waiting and races to the town museum.

Kael finds Lily all alone standing in the museum staring at her favorite paintings on the wall. Kael knew that Lily's favorite subject was History, and though Lily would never admit it, Lily was actually really into art paintings. Lily usually wasn't one for art, due to its lack of center. Kael slowly walks over next to her as he stares at the painting in front of them.

"Nice painting."

Lily is surprised by the company that had joined her. She turns her head to look over to the child next to her, but when she sees it's Kael merely turns back to the painting, neither frowning nor smiling.

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to check up on you. Omega and I were really worried about you."

Lily doesn't reply. Kael glances at Lily in the awkward silence. He can tell she is troubled by the stance she takes. Lily stands insecurely, her arms draped around herself and her shoulders loose. He has never seen her so defenseless before.

"My father lost his job again."

Lily states it as if it has no meaning, with a hint of indifference. Kael isn't fooled by Lily's cover, he knows about Lily's relationship with her father. He has seen her yell of her anger that stems off of her father's irresponsibility.

"I'm sorry," Kael says.

Lily grunts roughly before speaking. "Don't be. It was my father's fault, again. His tardiness was deemed a liability by the boss. It was the correct thing to do, I wouldn't hire the man.

"But that isn't even the worst part. When he told me the news, I didn't even care. It was as if I had finally lost all hope of him ever changing his path of continuous failure.

"I became scared because I realized my standards were changing. I have become softer over time, my will is waning. I'm scared. I'm scared that if I stay here too long I'll end up like my father." Lily says.

"I can understand-" Kael starts.

"Understand? You, understand? What can you understand? You know nothing! You understand nothing!"

Lily now stands facing her good friend. All that sadness she had has now been converted to anger as she stands with her fist gripped into a tight ball.

"How could you understand anything?! How could you understand me?! You're just like my father! You're just another useless, powerless failure with no future!"

Lily stops after the last statement. She quickly regrets ever saying the statement as she bites her tongue for its stupidity.

"I'm sorry," Lily says afterwards, ashamed by her sudden out burst.

"It's ok," Kael replies with a shrug, "you're partially right; I am kind of like your father, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"Maybe you can be satisfied being like him, but I can't. The longer I stay here, the weaker my will becomes. I can't stay here for much longer. I have to get stronger, strong enough to leave this place, and him, far behind to a distant memory, one that should be forgotten. The sooner I do this, the better."

For a while nothing is said between the two friends. Neither one knows what to say, so therefore nothing is said.

"I'm sorry. I just… need to be alone…" Lily whispers quietly as she walks past her friend. He turns to her, watching helplessly as she walks away.

"Just remember you have friends that care about you." Kael says loud enough for her to hear. Lily doesn't respond, instead just continuing on her path as she walks away.

Kael watches her walk away to the distance before he too walks back in defeat. When Kael returns to the Marin's the sun is already setting and the day is almost ending. In the Marin's, Omega sits waiting for him diligently, drawing colorful pictures with crayons.

"Hey KC, you were gone for a long time!" Omega exclaims loudly, showing the energy he had pent up while waiting for Kael to return. Omega looks around Kael, looking left and right and behind him. "Where is Lily?"

Kael fakes a smile and holds the energetic Omega down with one hand before he speaks, "Lily isn't going to hang out with us today. She has some…troubles to work out."

Kael attempts to play it off casually and is very thankful when Omega just accepts his words for face value, not questioning a single thing.

"It's getting late, let's get going home. What do you say, Omega?" Kael suggests to his friend. Omega's eyes instantly dim from the suggestion.

"What? Already?"

"Yeah, it's already almost dark and I have extra home work to do." Omega gives Kael a pleading look, but knows that Kael is right.

"Fine…" So the two say their goodbyes to Old Man Marin and take their leave. The walk home is a familiar path, one that they know like the back of their hands. Omega and Kael were neighbors and had known each other for a long time, though it hadn't been until Kael began studying under Omega's father that they really became best friends. Omega's father was the best mechanic in town and it was him that taught Kael a lot of the basic techniques that Kael uses for his junk art.

Kael reaches his house first. He says goodbye to Omega and passes to the gates of his house.

Kael's house wasn't the greatest built building in the world. It was a cheap house built with cheap materials on cheap land. The building had lasted a few decades but by the look of it, they hadn't build it to even last that long. The white paint has all but faded leaving the brown muddy material open for all to see. Inside the house is dark and hot with bad circulation of air to cool it. Most people would call it a piece of junk, Kael called it home.

Kael races over to his room. Kael's room was cluttered with all types of different art. The entire room was laced with hidden and forgotten treasures, hanging from the ceiling, wired around the wall, and organized on the many shelves across the room. The room was fairly well lit with four or five lamps that Kael had scavenged around the junkyards. They were all modified, of course, with added functions and details on them.

Kael was surprised by a letter sitting on his bed waiting for him. His mother never usually places his mail on the bed; she never really went in his room at all as it was really quite a maze to anyone other than himself. He walks over to the letter and finds one word written on it, Kael.

Kael picks up the letter and carefully opens its contents. Inside is a single piece of paper folded into three parts. After unfolding it, Kael reads the letter to himself:

Dear Kael Croubur

THE NOTHING, a dark unknown force, has begun its attack upon the universe by attacking time itself. By attacking the universe' greatest heroes when they were weakest he has left a gapping hole in the universe that evil has quickly taken to their advantage. With all of time under attack, we the GUARDIANS OF TIME, have decided its time to summon the CHAMPION OF TIME. The Champion of Time is the great protector of time and the chosen hero who has the power to fight back against the Nothing and return time to its rightful state, but during a great battle at the edges of time the Champion of Time fell to the darkness. His great and enormous powers were lost with him …

THE SIX are the six duelists from all across space and time with the greatest dueling potential. They represent the greatest heroes from every corner of space and time, from the far reaches of Neo Space to the Gardens of Eden. Within one of these duelist lays the sleeping powers of the Champion of Time…

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN as one of the six Duelists of Time. You are the wielder of the great power that comes from the legendary dragon who soars across the stars of space. You are the one who potential rains down from more, the one who holds the key to others most secret powers. You who have overcome many obstacles in your attempts to reach across to the hearts of your enemies, but have rarely ever delved into your own heart…

IF YOU ACCEPT then you shall enter the Duel of Time, the ultimate dueling tournament where you will face against the other five Duelists of Time in a deadly competition to find the Champion of Time. The losers shall go back to their time period and return to their average daily lives. The victor shall become the Champion of Time!

We'll be waiting for your reply…

Nix Uotan, Guardian of Time

Kael then notices a piece of paper drop out of the letter, one that has an address and a time, the city church and the time midnight of tonight. Kael reads both notes again, then once again, and continues to read it a fourth and fifth time as he attempts to process the information. Confused by the mystery, Kael decides to go to the one person he would talk to in a situation like this. His best friend, Omega.

Kael could have called his good friend but elects another option as he decides to just go in person. Omega is Kael's neighbor so it's not like he is wasting a lot of time by just speaking to Omega in person.

Omega's house was similar to Kael's, old and breaking down. The difference was the man inside the home. Omega's father being the handy man he is was able to add some improvements to the home to keep it running. Sadly, Omega's father wasn't one for beauty and colors. While the house worked like any brand new house, it looked like a Frankenstein monster; weird machines appearing here, forgotten patterns there, nothing fit together to make a single whole house. Kael walks over and rings the doorbell.

Omega happens to answer the door and is surprised by the appearance of his friend, but equally happy to see him. "Hey KC, I was just about to go get you!"

"Really? That's pretty funny. Before we talk, let's go to your room," Kael replied as he laughs slightly.

"Ok, come in." Omega lets Kael into the madness of the house. The interior of the house made the exterior look normal. The crazy gadgetry and designs around the house were everywhere.

"Hello Kael." Omega's mother states as Omega and Kael pass her by. Omega's mother is a strong woman and probably the only one who could live with a man like her husband. Her stronger muscular build made her perfect to help her husband around in the hard work that was common in the household. Still, she was a cheery woman and happy to help out Omega and his friends in any way she could.

Omega's room is as childish as one's room could be with bright colors with multiple crayon drawings all around the wall. Omega loves crayons and frequently draws anything he can imagine with his vast imagination with them. It wasn't hard to imagine that Omega drew around his entire room with crayons. Meanwhile, the floor was littered with toys that the child hadn't yet picked up.

Once inside the room Kael closes the door for extra privacy. He then turns to Omega, who is looking back. Both wait around for the other to speak causing an uncomfortable silence between the two of them.

"I got a letter." They both say at the same time and then laugh together. Kael pulls out the letter from his jeans while Omega pulls out a matching letter from his shorts.

"Wow, we got the same letter, what a coincidence!" Omega laughs at the humorous situation.

"Yeah it is. So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure, what do you think we should do?"

Kael settles in and takes a seat on the bed as if it were his own. He contemplates the mysterious letter for a moment. "We should go to the tournament."

Omega looks at Kael with amusement. "But we don't even know if this is real or not?"

Kael looks over to Omega, determined. Kael was clearly blinded by the dramatic reward to ignore the potential dangerous consequences. "And what if it's not? What have we got to lose? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We have to go."

Omega looks over at Kael with excitement in his eyes. "Ok let's do it! So we have to get up at midnight?"

Kael ponders the question for a while. "Yeah. But let's be there early. We should wake up around eleven."

Kael stands up as he begins to get some momentum, "Let's go to bed early and get up at eleven. We'll sneak out of our housed early and meet up at the junk yard at around eleven fifteen. That way we have plenty of time to get there early."

Omega begins to shake with excitement, no longer worried about the potential dangers that could be there, "This is soo cool! I can't wait!"

Kael puts a hand on Omega's shoulder to calm him down. "I don't think we can tell our parents. They would also just tell us school is more important; that we can't stay up that late on a school night."

Omega nodded in silent agreement.

"We have to do this silently and without them knowing. And above all else, at all cost, we can't be late."

They were late.

Both Kael and Omega had woken up at around eleven forty-five. Both children rushed out into the night as fast as they could. They didn't even bother to get new clothes and their current attire was still clearly wrinkled from use. The only possessions they carried were their duel disks with their decks already in them.

Kael and Omega rushed over to the city church clock tower in the dead of night. They reach the building only to find someone else already there.

The familiar face of their friend Lily surprises them, just as much as they surprise her.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asks her two friends curiously. Lily stands near the gates with her arms wrapped around herself for warmth.

"We got a letter." KC states bluntly while Omega and him gather their breath.

"Huh?"

"We got a letter about an amazing tournament that was going to be held here at midnight sharp."

"You got invited to a tournament."

"Me too!" Omega adds with energy that only a child could contain.

"And you believed it?" Lily asks with complete and utter befuddlement in her voice.

"uhh… yeah!" Kael admits while almost laughing at his own decision.

"You guys have to be the biggest dimwits I have ever met in my entire life," Lily unleashes as she shakes her head in disappointment. "You guys are such stupid, idiotic morons, believing anything you hear."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Omega randomly asks his raging friend. Almost instantly, Lily stops her attacks and goes silent.

"That's a good point. What are you doing here, in the exact place and the exact time as the letter told us to be here?"

"Well, uhh…" Lily remarks with no real reply.

"You even brought your duel disk with you!" Omega adds excitedly. Sure enough, Lily was carrying her duel disk, nicely strapped to her left arm in preparation.

Lily begins to move backwards slowly as her friends begin to surround her, cornering her to a wall.

"Ok, I'll admit it. I got the same letter and that's why I'm here." Lily confesses, much to the amusement of KC and Omega.

"So who's the dimwit now?" Omega says, delighted in being able to tease his senpai.

"Shut up." Lily mutters under her breath, raising her hand to strike at her friend.

"So, has anyone else come?" Kael asks his friend a bit more seriously as he attempts to examine the situation.

"No, I'm the only one here," Lily declares regaining her lost confidence.

"Have you tried opening the door?"

"It's locked."

The three kids sit silently in the middle of the cold night as they muse over their current situation for a moment.

"So what do you think, Lily?" Kael asks, breaking the awkward silence.

"Why are you asking me?" Lily responds defensively.

"You're our senpai; you always know what to do!" Omega states in a child-like manner as he looks up to the female duelist.

"Well, they may still be setting up. We are technically early, so it is reasonable that they are still preparing and will let us in at the designated time." Lily grumbles out unwillingly.

"Is that your honest opinion, or your optimistic opinion?" Kael asks, looking directly at Lily's eyes as he speaks.

"Optimistic." She admits. "But at this point it doesn't matter does it? We're here aren't we? We might as well go through with it."

Kael nods at conclusion. Omega interrupts the two with an announcement of his own.

"Hey whatever is going to happen, its going to happen soon!" he exclaims, showing his watch which read 11:59.

"Ok then, let's do this," Kael commanded with the voice of a leader as he speaks to his friends. They move to the front of the door and wait for the time to come.

The clock strikes twelve causing a large bellowing sound to erupt from within the building. The sound shakes the children to their core as they are unprepared for a massive sound from such close range. The sound is so loud that they don't even hear the sound of the door unlocking

June 24, 2010, at exactly 12:00AM Kael, Omega and Lily open the door to the church.


	2. Prologue 2

Another Prologue…

-An Endless Day-

Kiya slowly gets out of the bus. She looks around and finds the world shining back on her. The warm summer breeze blows throw her long black hair freely. School had just ended a week ago and Kiya was still tense from the studying for finals. Enjoying the view of a nice sunny summer day was exactly what she needed to release some of the lingering stress.

Kiya stretches her limbs in long drawn out motions as if she hadn't gotten outside in months. Though it was summer she didn't feel quite right without her jeans and her red jacket on her back.

Behind her, her good friend Figgy carefully walks out of the bus. The timid boy walks with one arm wrapped around his belly and the other dangling about. His afro covered head hangs low towards the ground. He wears a larger t-shirt with a generic brand logo on it. His darker skin is only barely visible from the sleeves of the large shirt.

"Hey Figgy, don't go lagging behind," Kiya warns her friend. She begins her steady walk down the clean white streets. From here, the road to Chase's house would be on foot. While the day was still early as the sun barely hit the peak of the sky, the children wanted to get over to Chase's house as fast as possible to talk business.

This morning Figgy, Kiya and Chase all gotten a letter on their beds. No one knew how the letter had gotten on their bed or why they were the only ones who had gotten it. The mysterious letter read:

Dear Kiya Minamura,

THE NOTHING, a dark unknown force, has begun its attack upon the universe by attacking time itself. By attacking the universe's greatest heroes when they were weakest he has left a gaping hole in the universe that evil has quickly taken to their advantage. With all of time under attack, we the GUARDIANS OF TIME, have decided its time to summon the CHAMPION OF TIME. The Champion of Time is the great protector of time and the chosen hero who has the power to fight back against the Nothing and return time to its rightful state, but during a great battle at the edges of time the Champion of Time fell to the darkness. His great and enormous powers were lost with him …

THE SIX are the six duelists from all across space and time with the greatest dueling potential. They represent the greatest heroes from every corner of space and time, from the far reaches of Neo Space to the Gardens of Eden. Within one of these duelist lays the sleeping powers of the Champion of Time…

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN as one of the six Duelists of Time who contains such potential within you. Your dueling skills have garnered much respect over the years and have made you a great fighter for justice. Your mastery over the Elements has made you a powerful opponent, and your heart has made you a legendary Hero…

IF YOU ACCEPT then you shall enter the Duel of Time, the ultimate dueling tournament where you will face against the other five Duelists of Time in a deadly competition to find the Champion of Time. The losers shall go back to their time period and return to their average daily lives. The victor shall become the Champion of Time!

We'll be waiting for your reply…

Nix Uotan, Guardian of Time

The friends had decided that it would be best if they met in person to discuss the letter in question in detail. Kiya had expected to be forced to do some major last minute cleaning so they could meet at her house like usual, but was surprised when Chase invited them to his house, instead. Kiya and Figgy had never been to Chase's house before and quickly jumped on the opportunity to know their friend better.

Kiya hadn't expected the trip to be Chase's house to be nearly an adventure in itself. Chase lived on the complete other side of the city in one of the more high class neighborhoods. Kiya hadn't expected Chase's home to be so far away, but there was nothing she could do now.

The startling revelation made Kiya realize how little she knew about her good friend Chase. She had spent an entire school year becoming best friends with Chase and yet she knew nothing about his home life. His life before high school was a complete mystery to her.

"Figgy, what do you know about Chase's home?" Kiya asks her energetic friend, remembering that Figgy went to the same middle school as Chase.

"Uhh, not much. Chase doesn't really talk about his home life very much," Figgy replies. "I've never been to his home."

"I wonder what type of room Chase would have?" Kiya places a finger to her mouth as she ponders the question.

"I bet he has tons of action figures all around his room!" Figgy answers with a goofy, childish expression that causes Kiya to laugh.

"I doubt that. Too much effort for the lazy git," Kiya comments carefully. "No, it would have to be something simpler. I wouldn't be surprised if he has nothing on his walls at all."

"Yeah, that does sound a lot more like him."

After thirty minutes of mindlessly following the quickly scribbled directions she took while on the phone with Chase, Kiya's confidence began to fade. The unfamiliarity with her surroundings had her questioning every turn she made, even after having made it into the home complex. The nearly identical homes combined with nearly identical lawns made for a maze that seemed to circle around the two children.

Kiya is saved when she comes across the familiar face of an old friend.

"Wendy? Wendy Espinoza?" Kiya calls out to the girl across

"Kiya! What a surprise! I didn't know you lived over here?" Wendy asks cheerfully. Wendy was a classmate of Kiya, Figgy and Chase's during the school year. The pretty girl with her hair casually let down was still wearing her school skirt along with a pretty floral blouse.

"Actually we don't live over here. Figgy and I are here visiting Chase," Kiya corrects her friend. She jogs over to Wendy's side of the street with Figgy trailing behind her.

"Oh, I see," Wendy mutters under her breath. "Yeah, Chase lives not too far from here."

"Oh good, I was worried we were getting lost."

Kiya and Figgy wait for a response from the classmate, but Wendy doesn't give one. Instead the small girl just nods her head.

"Man, it would be nice if someone could show us the way, someone who lived around here and knew the neighborhood," Figgy states in an obvious baiting statement.

"Yeah, if only," Wendy states bluntly. She is obviously annoyed with the little boy and his hyper tendencies.

"Who knows how long it will take us to reach Chase's house. Everything looks the same. It could take hours to get there."

"Ok, Fine! I'll show you the way to his house?" Wendy agrees having fallen into the annoying child's demand. It was very clear she was angered by the bothersome situation.

"Yes! Victory!" Figgy shouts as he throws up the victory sign into the air. The gesture makes Wendy even more mad. The furious girl picks up a magazine she had been holding in her bag and raised it to strike at the young child. Figgy quickly rushes away behind Kiya, only peaking through the shoulder.

"I apologize for my friend," Kiya states. Her arms are raised before her in the standard sign for peace. "I'm sorry about his hyperness, but we really could use some help finding our way around here."

Wendy sighs softly. She places down the magazine into her bag again before finally calming down. "Fine, I'll do it."

"That'd be great!" Kiya answers, relieved to have a guide to show them the way. Together, the three of them begin their walk to Chase's home. Kiya doesn't say very much. Figgy and Wendy keep themselves occupied with their playful bickering and arguing. Kiya watches them fight and only enters into the fray when she is forced upon being Figgy's human shield.

"Well here is the one," Wendy declares. After fifteen minutes of walking around, they finally reach Chase's home. The house is massive in stature; two stories, with a balcony on the top floor. The lawn of the home is green and thin from perfect trimming.

"Wow! This is where Chase lives?" Figgy murmured with awe and wonder at the beautiful house.

"Yeah, you wouldn't figure it would be like that considering his lazy nature, but his family is actually really hard working. They take good care of their house," Wendy explains.

"Well, I got to get going, so I'll see you guys later!" Wendy calls out as she waves goodbye. Kiya and Figgy wave goodbye back to the girl until she is out of view.

Kiya and Figgy both walk towards the door of the large white house. Kiya doesn't hesitate long before ringing the doorbell. The two children then wait nervously, neither knowing what to expect.

When Chase opens to door for them, all their doubts and worries are washed away. Chase's eyes are droopy as if he had just gotten up. His long thin figure is only outlined by his snug long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. When he speaks he speaks with an almost careless voice, a matter-of-fact tone, "I'm glad you guys made it here, ok. Come in, come in"

"Yeah, thanks to Wendy. You never told us that Wendy lived in the same neighborhood as you," Figgy says as Chase lets them into his home.

"You never asked," Chase states as if it were the most logical thing in the world, much to Figgy's amusement.

"My parents are off at work so we'll be all alone today," Chase informs them while beginning his trek up the stairs to the second floor. Both Kiya and Figgy quickly follow him up, barely able to glance at their surroundings.

Chase's house is a clean, orderly home, one that one would expect from a model home instead of an actual home. Almost everything inside seemed to be made for show and not for actual use. Everything is very clean and ordered to the utmost levels.

As they walk by the hall way leading to Chase's room, Figgy's eyes are captured by a small little doll inside a pink painted room. The small blue doll is part of a larger group of six or seven dolls that sit on the shelf. The set of dolls are just barely visible due to a slight crack in the door. What catches Figgy's eye is the fact that the blue doll is knocked down while the rest are standing up.

Figgy stops suddenly to get a closer look in the mysterious room. Suddenly, Chase's hand reaches in and closes the door on Figgy's face sharply.

"Don't go in that room," Chase says quietly. Chase doesn't look at the intruding child when he says it. He merely looks away while he speaks before he continues moving forward to his room.

Figgy's face turns red in embarrassment before he quickly jumps over to Kiya, placing the girl in between Chase and himself. Kiya merely chuckles a bit at Figgy's expense, not thinking too much of the situation.

When they reach Chase's room, they are surprised by how plain it really is. The wall is bare with nothing more complicated than the simple white paint that covers it. The floor is clean without so much as a wrapper or a crumb. The only object that stands out in the room is the bed which is wrinkled from frequent use.

Chase quickly sits down on the bed, casually getting himself comfortable. He motions his hand in a gesture to tell his guests to take a seat as well. Kiya pulls up the rolling chair from the almost too clean desk and takes a seat on it. Figgy sits down on the floor and leans his back up against the sturdy wall.

Kiya pulls out the letter from her jacket pocket. The letter was perfectly folded without almost any wrinkles at all. Figgy then pulls out his crumbled, disfigured letter that he had kept in his jean pocket this entire time. Chase pulls out his letter from the side of the bed where he had found it.

"So we all really did get this letter," Kiya acknowledges jokingly just keeping conversation rolling. Even though they had spent all this time getting here to talk about the strange letter, Kiya couldn't remember what they were going to say about it.

Lucky for her, Chase seemed to have a better grasp on the situation as he began to speak, "Here, let me see your letter, Figgy."

Figgy passes his letter to Chase, who cautiously takes it. Chase spends some time reading Figgy's letter, thoroughly studying it.

"Each letter contains one passage that is unique. The passage is one specially made for each person and talks specifically about them individually," Chase comments aloud. "I'm guessing that whoever sent this probably knew us personally. A classmate probably, maybe someone we met at F&F's."

"Maybe you're right, but how would someone be able to get it into all of our rooms?" Kiya comments carefully.

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here? I mean what if this is all true; an actual tournament being held today?" Figgy asks his friends directly. Kiya can see in his eyes the glittering hope he holds within him.

"Are you kidding me? This is insane! A champion of time with powers over time is the craziest thing I've ever heard of. Even ignoring the logic of time and space dynamics, why are we the ones invited out of everyone in the world? I can think of two or three better candidates in our district, let alone all of time!" Kiya snaps at her friend. Kiya feels a little guilty for her outburst when she sees the shine in Figgy's face fade.

"It would be foolish to assume we understand everything about the world," Chase interrupts, much to Kiya and Figgy's surprise.

"You can't honestly believe this though?"

"I never said the chances were good, did I?" Chase laughs while he speaks. He places his hand through his smooth, thin hair. "I'm just saying that we shouldn't shut out possible options just because we may or may not be smart enough to grasp everything."

"Yeah! You can't say for certain that it isn't true!" Figgy cheers joyfully with newfound confidence.

"That may be true, but even Chase admitted that the chances were slim! We should prepare for the likely before we begin preparing for the 'what if' situations." Kiya explains so that even Figgy can understand. Her optimistic friend is once again shot down.

"She is correct," Chase states in his cool tone. "It most likely is a fake."

"That doesn't tell us who wrote it though," This time Figgy responds in slightly more than a whisper.

"That is true; we have no clue who wrote it. Blast it! There are just so many variables!" Kiya exclaims.

"So do we go?" Figgy asks. Neither Kiya nor Chase reply immediately to the large question.

Kiya looks over at Chase, then to Figgy, and then back at Chase again. No one knows quite what to say. The awkward silence sets in on the friends.

"...It could be a trap," Kiya says slowly.

"For what reasons? By whom?" Figgy asks Kiya.

"Does it matter? There's something fishy about this whole situation. We obviously don't know all the facts. Going in without knowing at least the bare basics isn't a good idea," Chase analyzes before letting out a sigh. "This is so troublesome."

"But it could be real or at least an epic tournament. We don't know."

"This is getting us no where, let's have a vote," Kiya commands with firm strength. "Those in favor of not going to the meeting?"

Kiya raises her hand high. She only glances towards Figgy whose hand stays down. Both look over to the third member, Chase. Chase sits with his eyes resting closed, but his hand down.

Time seems to stop for a moment. Time totally and completely freezes. No one moves a muscle, even the usual hyper active Figgy. It almost seems as if the air itself freezes to inaction.

Then Chase raises his hand and unfreezes time. Kiya quickly jumps to her feet and cheers happily while Figgy skulks down on the ground.

"Thank god!" Kiya rejoices loudly.

"Ok then, the group has voted. We don't go to the obvious trap," Kiya announces for all to hear. Figgy, while disappointed, doesn't argue with his friend's assessment.

After coming to the decision on the letter, the rest of the day seems to fly by for the children.

The Kids take a trip towards F&F's game store at 1:30. The Store was the best card store within the entire city and gets frequent attraction from all the kids throughout the town. This was the store where many of the Card Masters Club decided to meet weekly in order to continue their activities over the summer break.

The founders of the store are Mr. Figueroa and Ms. Fonseca, who were close friends long before they became business partners. The middle aged adults were very friendly and took pride not only in their selling of the game, but ability to play along with the children. It was as if they themselves, like chase and figgy were kids too.

The three giddy children play a large multiplayer game at 2:30. It's 3:43 when Figgy cuts a lead on Kiya and Chase. Figgy ends up winning not fifteen minutes later from that point.

At around 4:25 Kiya and Figgy decide they have to return home. They say goodbye to their friend and begin the walk back to the bus. The bus picks them up at 5:10 and starts its trek to the other side of town.

The children get off bus at 5:50. Figgy says his goodbyes there as he heads his way home. Kiya waves back as a send-off to her friend then heads off home herself.

Kiya makes it in the door of her home before it's six. She has just enough time to drop off her things and change her clothes before she begins to make dinner for herself and the rest of her family.

Kiya accidentally cuts her finger at 6:08. She made the mistake when she wasn't paying attention while cutting the vegetables. Kiya's mother rushes in with a paper towel to absorb the blood that oozed out of the gaping wound. She is then scolded and told to pay more attention when cutting the vegetables. Kiya is then sent to go baby sit her baby sister while her mother finishes up the cooking.

Kiya frequently baby sits her sister who was barely five. Kiya places in a video tape in the VHS at around 6:12 to entertain her sister. The video is a cartoon movie that Kiya herself had watched as a child. Her sister had naturally grown up watching the same cartoon and loved it too. Though Kiya enjoys the timeless classic today she doesn't quite feel into it at the moment. Kiya listens to the characters and hears all the jokes, but can't quite get into it.

And then before Kiya knew it, she was in bed. Kiya looks over to the clock for what feels like the ninetieth time tonight. The small white electronic reads 9:56. She wasn't sleepy. She wasn't even close to being sleepy at all. In fact, Kiya was wide awake.

Inside, Kiya felt an intense feeling of sadness. She didn't feel like crying though. It was a different type of sadness. It was more of a lack of happiness. Someone had taken the happiness inside her and pulled it out. Kiya didn't understand exactly why she was feeling this way; she just knew that there was a void.

But it wasn't just sadness; there was something else too, something inside it. There was a feeling deeper inside the pain. It was this feeling that wouldn't let her rest. She could feel it deep inside her as it moved and writhed abound. It wanted to get out.

Kiya took great pride in being a realist. That was why she hung around with Chase and Figgy. While both kids were far from normal and used logic that wasn't rational by any definition of the word, she was the one to protect them. That was her burden to carry. Figgy was the fun loving child who frequently got on other people's nerves. Chase was the lazy loafer who wouldn't often protect himself. Neither child's sense of self preservation was high; therefore Kiya took the burden onto herself to keep them safe.

The price of this was that Kiya couldn't be the one being optimistic all the time. Kiya had to be careful and watch her friend's backs. Sometimes it meant being the harsh parent and tearing down hopes, but it was worth it if they were ok in the end.

But this time was different. Something was not right with this and it was bothering her. It takes some time, but Kiya finally admits the core of her problem.

Deep down, Kiya wanted to go to the tournament. Deep within her heart, there was a fire lit that wanted to burn brighter than any flame. Deep inside Kiya's logic and rational mind, hidden beneath her protective self, Kiya wanted to break loose and go to the tournament.

Kiya remembers opening up the letter. She remembers the strong feelings inside her. She remembers feeling like a child again, feeling this excitement at the prospect of this higher adventure. It was a feeling Kiya didn't get very often, because she had to protect Figgy and Chase so much.

Kiya remembers the moment after opening the letter too. She remembers her logic and reasoning pushing down the hope and happiness she experienced. She remembers the disappointment she felt from having her hopes being thrown away.

She still doesn't know who wrote the letter. Why did they write it? What is the purpose of the tournament, and what will happen if she goes? Kiya does know that inside she doesn't care. That she wants to go and experience it fully. For once, Kiya wants to experience the wonders of the unknown.

Kiya jumps out of bed with blinding speed. She quickly grabs the jeans that she had worn earlier and threw them on. She didn't bother to even change her shirt due to lack of time. Kiya puts on a jacket and then goes for the last and most important item: her duel disk and deck. Kiya carefully puts the duel disk on her arm before moving on to her deck.

Kiya looks at the deck of cards in front of her. She shuffles through the cards for a moment in preparation for what is to come. Kiya then places the deck into the duel disk and takes off. She carefully sneaks out of her room without alerting her parents.

After Kiya closes the door to her house, she looks back. In this small moment, this small insignificant moment in the larger view of life, she hesitates one last time. This is the turning point. She could leave into the unknown, or she could return to the safety of her bed. Kiya decides to continue forward.

Kiya races off in the direction of her destination. She knows how to get there on foot but has never walked there before. She doesn't care anymore; she knows she has to go, even if just for a chance.

Kiya takes a breather after getting tired from the long jog. She looks up at the large clock tower that stands on top of the massive church. Being able to see the clock tower was a good sign, it means that she is getting closer. Kiya pulls out her watch to see the time. 11:45. If she were to continue at this pace she still wouldn't make it on time. Kiya therefore cuts her break short and breaks into a vigorous run.

Kiya is surprised when she reaches the legendary clock tower. There is someone else already waiting there, and she is even more surprised to see who it is. The person was a little smaller than her in stature and had a thin overall body. His clothes were the strangest part about him; he wore a blue long shirt with a red vest over it, two white gloves and a duel disk on his left arm. The two most bizarre pieces of clothing were the bright yellow cape and the orange bicycle helmet, complete with tinted visor.

Kiya sees the mysterious fellow and immediately recognizes him for who he is, "Figgy? Is that you Figgy? What are you doing here?!"

"Kiya?" The strange boy jerks over to see the girl. His expression fails to hide the pure shock he experiences from seeing Kiya appear before him. The girl sprints close up, tapping into a new energy source made up of her rage and anger.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you!" Kiya yells when she gets closer to the masked hero, "What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to not come, isn't that right, Figgy?"

"Uhhh, I think you have me confused with someone else," The caped duelist says hesitantly. He then moves an arm's length's distance away from Kiya before pulling himself back together.

"I am the Masked Duelist!" he states with a wave of a hand and a loud dramatic tone for all to hear. The overly dramatic presence which he attempts to command falls flat to Kiya, who refuses to listen to his random speech.

"I know it's you under there already! Oh, look who I'm talking to!" Kiya forfeits attempting to reason with her friend, and moves on to more important business. "So why are you here?"

"A hero never backs down from a challenge," The Masked Duelist shouts confidently, as if it was the obvious answer.

"In other words you were planning to go whether we agreed to or not."

"Ma'am, I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about."

"Oh, shut it already! Give me your mask!" Kiya interrupts her friend's sideward shifting. She reaches up for the helmet on his head but he doesn't hesitate before running away from her. Kiya doesn't wait before chasing after him.

The two kids begin a game of cat and mouse. Kiya chases the Masked Duelist around in circles. The cries of anger and panic soon morph into giggles and laughs.

"I caught you!" Kiya finally caught her friend by the edge of the bright cape.

"Oh, you guys are around here too, I see?" Chase states as he approaches the two playful children. Kiya promptly releases the cape she had a hold of and looks toward the newcomer.

"Chase? You changed your mind, too?" Kiya asks as she looks at him.

Chase stops in his tracks and releases a nervous smile as he speaks. "Actually I didn't. I just happened to wake up at 10:50. I knew that if I left right then that I would have just enough time to make it to the church before midnight. It had to be a sign, destiny telling me to go, so who was I to argue?"

"That's it? Sometimes I envy your simple mindedness."

Chase doesn't respond to the comment made by the doubtful girl. Instead Chase turns over to the other child. "Hello Mr. Masked Duelist! I was unaware that you received an invitation."

"I sure did! Pretty epic huh?"

"Don't encourage him!" Kiya shouts. Kiya then comes to a small realization as she watches her friends talk. They had all decided that it was in their best interest to not go to this tournament. Yet here they stood. Each one of them came to this decision alone; each one of them decided that this was what they wanted. Each one of them decided and came to their own conclusion on this. Kiya looks at them, and knows there aren't any other people in the entire world she would rather have at her side on her ride into the unknown.

"Kiya! Kiya!"

Kiya is pulled out of her mental daze by the calling from her friend. Chase and the Masked Duelist stand as they look at her, giggling at her awkward dazed look.

"Kiya, it's almost midnight," Chase says, pointing up towards the tall clock tower up ahead as its hands come ever closer towards midnight.

"Yeah, it is," Kiya acknowledges with a bright smile on her face. The children walk over to the colossal doors of the church.

"Are you nervous?" the Masked Duelist asks with a playful grin.

"No. I'm excited," Kiya states with a proud honest tone, one without fear or doubt.

June 24, 1990, at exactly 12:00AM Kiya, Chase and the Masked Duelist open the door to the church.


	3. Duel 0

Duel 0

Revelations

"On June 24th 2010, at 12:00AM Kael, Leo, and Lily opened the door of the Santa Ana Christian Church and disappeared from the material plane of existence.

"Oh June 24th 1990, at 12:00AM Kiya, Chase, and Figgy opened the door of the Santa Ana Christian Church and disappeared from the material plane of existence.

"At approximately 12:01AM the six Duelists of Time arrived at the Orrey of Time to fulfill their part of the mission

"Welcome, welcome and thank you for having accepted your invitation. The entire world and all of time itself owes you a great deal of gratitude for being here today.

"Welcome to the Timeless, a special dimension separate from your own. A separate dimension that I and only I live in. It is from here that I forever watch down upon your time world.

"I am Nix Uotan, the Guardian of Time. It is I who has brought you six duelists here for the very purpose of having you compete in the righteous tournament to crown a new Champion of Time!"

The words come from a massive man, his voice sounds as if his very mouth was an amplifier and the very air itself echoes it out again.

Although he is at least twice as large as any man with a gigantic towering body, he stands elevated on steps that are supported by nothing more than air, yet. He wears a large black coat that makes his body seems like huge tree trunk, thick and tall. His arms are powerful colossal figures that are like huge columns attached to his body by his broad shoulders.

His face is equally powerful. It is statuesque in its strong, sturdy, almost eternal, emotionless position. His chin is broad and square, fitting well with the rest of his body. His skin is red with dark hair appearing on his beard, hands and head in bushy bundles.

"This is insane!" Kiya shouts in disbelief, the first of the duelist to make any sound since appearing here.

"On the contrary, the only thing insane will be your mind if you think about this situation too much," Chase contradicts plainly.

"If this really is a different plane of existence then it isn't that far of a thought to believe that there are different physics and different rules behind the plane than our own. In a world where you don't know the rules the best thing you can do is go with the flow and see where the river takes you," Chase concludes with a peaceful sigh. On the other side the other three duelists have a similar conversation.

"I knew it," Lily states.

"Wait, what?" Kael questions, confused.

"I always knew this was going to happen."

"You did?"

"I always knew that you guys would drive me insane. Your illogical actions, your nonsensical style of dueling, your general refusal to obey any of the laws of the norm, I could only take so much of you guys. A week after knowing you guys I said to myself, 'these kids are going to be the end of me, they will end up either killing me or making me go insane.'

"Look at me now, in a blank… room with no gravity, talking to a large alien like man. The only possible explanation is insanity. My mind must have cracked back at the store," Lily continues with a blank look on her face as she accepts

"I'll be spending the next ten years in the insane asylum. My dueling career is over before I even started," Lily concludes, falling to her knees with her hands holding her head up.

"Don't worry so much, Lily. If you've lost your mind then that must mean we've lost it too! Everything'll be ok. If you go to the asylum, then we'll join you there!" Kael states as he attempts to comfort the poor girl. Lily's eyes open with shock as she croaks.

"We can be your roommates!" Omega shouts with great excitement while he pats his friend on the back. Lily quickly pushes his him away with her usual anger.

"Do not be afraid," The tall mysterious guardian states with his booming voice as he speaks to the young children again. His voice instantly captivates them with its destructive force behind it, like a cannon blast. "You are perfectly sane. I brought each of you here from two points in time for a special purpose. Before I go into detail I have arranged for a more appropriate place for our conversation."

"Follow me as I lead you to the hall that this tournament shall take place in." He speaks loudly as he begins his slow, massive movements, walking to the edge of the rock that the children stand on. He raises his hand and a series of platforms appear that spiral downward. From there he begins his slow and steady walk downward.

"So… are we supposed to follow him?" Kael asks, surprised by the series of events and still not fully understanding what is going on.

"I guess so…" Lily answers in equal confusion.

"Wow! You look amazing! Are you a superhero?" Omega asks the caped duelist with great enthusiasm that brings out a large smile to the masked boy's face.

"Yes, I actually am a hero. I am the masked defender of the weak and the defenseless. The guardian of the powerless and the helpless! I am the one and only Masked Duelist!" The costumed hero screams at the top of his lungs while strking a flashy dramatic pose.

"Who?" Kael asks confused, having never heard of such a person. The comment destroys the hero's concentration and causes him to crash to the floor in an embarrassing mess.

"What? You mean you've never heard of me before? You guys are from the future right?" He cries out, though on empty ears.

"The future?" Kael asks.

"Well me, Kiya and Chase are from the year 1990, what year are you from?" the caped crusader asks after pointing out each of his friends one by one.

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Kael, these are my friends Lily and Omega, and we're from the year 2010," Kael replies after pointing out his two friends, the childish Omega and the moody Lily.

"Wow! So you guys really are from the future!! That means you _must_ know me!! Masked Duelist! Defender of the weak and defenseless!" the costumed hero cries out again throwing out an array of names and adjectives, even making up a few of his own along the way.

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of anyone by that name before," Kael responds honestly to the demoralized hero who hangs his head down shamefully.

"There, there Mr. Masked Duelist. It's all ok. Everything will all be alright. You're famous in our time, and that's what matters most," Chase says while patting his friend comfortingly on the back.

"Only in his head is he famous!!" Kiya interrupts her two friends loudly, causing Omega and Kael to laugh.

"Well if you don't know about me, maybe you know about a few of the other people!" The Masked Duelist shouts loudly with newfound excitement.

"I don't think so," Chase interrupts calmly and emotionlessly, "interfering with the past can cause problems with the future. We can undo their future by somehow making a different decision that could alter all of history. The results can be disastrous to say the least. It's best and easiest for all of us if we just not ask questions and let destiny just take its course."

They stare at Chase for a moment as he gives off another of his classic sighs while giving off a serious strong tone.

"Wow, you are so cool!" Omega shrieks as he attempts to jump on the lazy boy who falls to the ground from the sudden force.

"Of course, a hero must not meddle in the time stream! Actions can only be epic if done in the moment and with no knowledge of the outcome before hand!" The Masked Duelist roars with a powerful commanding tone, "Therefore, I use all my power to make sure that none of you guys reveal anything about the future to us!"

"But just a second ago you were the one asking about the future!!" Kiya growls angrily at the caped duelist causing him to nearly lose his balance and almost fall onto the ground.

"You guys are funny!" Omega exclaims in between breaths of laughter.

"A hero is more than funny, a hero is epic!" The costumed hero states with another loud powerful pose. He then hesitates, expecting someone to say something or stop him. He stands prepared for a smack in the head from Kiya or laughter from someone else, but it doesn't come.

When the Masked Duelist opens his eyes, he sees the sparkling eyes of hope from the young child who stands in awe. The caped duelist then looks around him and sees that Chase and the others have all left him behind and begun their walk down the path Nix made for them.

"Hey, wait for us!" He calls out, pulling the dazed Omega behind him.

A great deal in front of them Chase, Kael, and Kiya walk together.

"So how do you think this tournament's gonna go?" Kael asks casually in an attempt to start a conversation

"I can't say for sure. This is the first tournament I've ever been in," Chase says calmly with his hands still in his pockets.

"What? Really? Oh, wait, that's right, you were sick that one time Figgy and I entered that tournament," Kiya responds as she searches her memory banks.

"Wow, you guys don't go to tournaments often?" Kael asks the two foreigners.

"It's not that we don't go to them, it's just that organized play hasn't gotten that organized recently. Most of our games are just casual matches with our school Card Game Club," Kiya explains calmly. "Why, have you been to a lot of tournaments?"

"I've been to a few tournaments. Most of the time Lily drags us along with her," Kael elaborates, scratching his head lightly from embarrassment.

It is then that Kael notices something missing. He looks around and realizes that Lily isn't with them. Kael then finds her on the path far ahead of them. She walks alone with one arm draped across her body.

"Hey guys! Wait up for us!" The Masked Duelist grumbles while attempting to catch his breath.

Kiya stops for a moment to wait for their stylishly late friend to catch up with them, "Hurry up!"

"Give him a break. It's probably tough to run in that impressive uniform. Must be a pain with the cape getting caught everywhere, and the extra layers must make it pretty hot inside," Chase concludes with a signature Chase sigh.

"It was his decision to put on the silly thing. I still don't fully understand why he wears it," Kiya replies.

The Masked Duelist arrives just in time to hear Kiya's comment. He takes a small breather before answering Kiya's statement. "I wear it because the extra load makes me stronger! These all double as training weights to increase strength!"

"Really!? That's amazing!" Omega exclaims with great enthusiasm. Kiya just raises a fist in preparation, one that Chase puts his hand over to stop her from taking any drastic actions.

Meanwhile, Lily is absorbed in her own world. Her eyes glance back to the group of strangers she just met today. Lily's glances are usually controlled and intentional, but there is a bit of weakness and randomness to the ones she gave now. She grips her arm with her opposite hand in a tight hold, tight enough to hurt; tight enough so that she isn't thinking.

"They really are something aren't they?" Kael says, catching the girl off guard. She turns the other way to hide her face, which is now red from embarrassment.

"You're acting really strange. Is something wrong?" Kael asks casually. Lily turns over to look at Kael. Her eyes drift off to the kids behind them for a fraction of a second. Kael notices this slight glance and follows her eyes back.

Lily mutters something too quiet for Kael to hear.

"What?" Kael asks.

"That boy is my father," Lily states in a blunt tone. Her eyes are wide with shock and disbelief even as she says the words.

"What!?" Kael shouts in surprise, loud enough to grab the attention of everyone else nearby. Lily doesn't hesitate before jumping on her loud, obnoxious friend, grappling him tightly with her left arm and clamping her left hand onto his mouth. Lily looks behind her and finds that other duelist are all so enthralled with their own conversations that they didn't catch Kael's little outburst.

"Quiet, you dimwit!! You can't tell anyone! You hear me? Not a soul!!" Lily whispers with hot rage to her friend. Kael nods his head in silent agreement so Lily slowly releases her hold over him.

Kael looks around to make sure no one is listening before he whispers "Which one are you talking about?"

"The dimwit with the cape and helm."

"Him? That's surprising…"

Lily glares back at Kael who quickly regrets his words.

"Are you sure? How can you know for sure that it's him?"

"Trust me, I know. My father is the type of man who stopped going Trick or Treating only after I did, but even beyond that, I've seen that costume multiple times when I had to clean up the attic, as well as photos of the three kids over there."

Kael goes silent as he attempts to process all the information. He glances back to the children behind them, but when Figgy looks back at him, he awkwardly shifts his glance away. "So… what are you going to do?"

Lily continues to look straight ahead even after being asked the question. Her expression attempts to calm itself down to its usual controlled state. Both her fists are stiff as they clench up. She feels her entire body tense up with anticipation, "I don't know. I just know that boy is my father."

Behind them, the other kids are joking and having fun. The Masked Duelist looks over at the female duelist far in front of him.

"Hey, Omega, who's that duelist over there?" He asks the young child.

"Who, Lily?" Omega responds.

"Yeah, her."

"Lily is the best! She's really great at just about everything! She's smart, and quiet and polite, and a really, _really_ great duelist. Grown ups love her because she's so smart and good at everything she does." Omega then hesitates for a moment to make sure Kael and Lily are outside hearing range before pulling in the costumed hero in closer, "she can be a bit prooper sometimes, though."

The Masked Duelist laughs with Omega at the comment for a moment before Kiya interrupts by smacking both children on the back of their heads.

"Don't make fun of a lady like that!" Kiya shouts at the poor children.

"Wow, look at that," asserts Chase. He points off to the distance where they can see the platforms continue on until they reach a large mansion-like building on top of a hovering rock. They are amazed by the large size of the building, twice as large as any building they have ever been in. The structure is at least four stories tall and more than twice as wide. It appears to be made out of white marble and perfectly carved into Corinthian columns.

Nix Uotan stands in front of the building waiting for the children to come. Lily and Kael wait in front of Nix for their friends to come. Kael looks back at his friends and waves to them. Lily stands facing the mansion and the demigod before her, her head held up high to look him directly in the eyes.

The other children approach the massive building, catching up with their friends. They notice the complete attention to detail on the gigantic structure, it appears as if it were made on earth and placed right here on a desert rock. They don't have much time to relax as Nix begins to speak almost as soon as the other kids caught up, "This is where the tournament shall take place. Come inside and hear my plight."

His echoing, commanding words are spoken and he begins to move before they can react or respond. He opens the massive doors and walks inside. The children follow in without a sound. They take in the new, more familiar surroundings. Inside, they feel like they are back on earth. The air, the space, everything is exactly like it would be back home.

The giant mansion is completely furnished with pictures, tables, and sofas all over. There are three main doors, two stairs that lead to the west and east wing of the mansion and the large door in the center of the room. The building has a warm, homey air to it, one that once inside, the children instantly find themselves more comfortable, even if just a little.

Nix doesn't stop there though; he continues forward to the door directly in front of the entrance. He opens the massive door to reveal an indoor coliseum. The incredibly large room has steps that go downward just a few feet before leveling off to a stone floor. In the center of the room stands an elevated platform that has all the markings of a duel arena. There are four sets of stairs to the top of the elevated platform, two on each side of the platform. Illuminating the room are bright lights are installed in the ceiling.

Nix walks into the room until he reaches a corner. There, he finally turns around to address the duelists face to face.

"Let me explain why I have brought you here. It is a tale that in order to be explained I must explain much more, so please bear with me. Most of this deals with the very fabric of reality and therefore it is foolish to think such lowly beings as you could possibly understand it all."

Lily, Kiya and Kael all sweatdrop at end of that sentence, not sure how to feel about it while the Masked Duelist, Chase and Omega are further excited and stand in awe of the mighty claim.

"Even before man, there existed an immense godly power, a power that inside contained the strength to control and manipulate time in other dimensions. This power is the thing keeping the clocks of your world ticking. It is the battery that continually charges your worlds' time and has been since time's very construction.

"The power itself is useless, it is just energy—a machine, without someone to use it and control it. Therefore, it has always come down to several chosen men and women to take the power into their beings and wield it. The power is the machine that controls and continually monitors time across the world and they are the people who operate the machine to keep it in check. These chosen are known as the Champions of Time."

"So what does this have to do with us?" Chase asks curiously and quite bravely as the other children are too intimidated to speak to the great guardian

"Another position that the Champion of Time must take is protecting time from the evils that may wish to abuse or destroy time. Therefore, the Champions of Time also end up in combat against great evils that rise up.

"The previous incarnation of the Champion of Time has fallen and with him his powers scattered. The power that he wielded is no longer around to keep the time stream in balance. The machine that held the clock wind has disappeared.

"But that isn't even the greatest of problems that has occurred. An evil has found a fraction of the Champion of Time's power. This evil has scoured the time stream to find the other fragments of power that the Champion of Time has scattered. Gathering them within itself the evil has grown even stronger and has now begun manipulating time to its own bidding."

"So what do can we do to help?" The Masked Duelist asks, as a true hero who answers the call when darkness approaches.

"Duel," The great guardian replies simply. His response is so simple and so basic that none of the duelist even responds before Nix continues, "You shall duel each other in this tournament I have set up for you.

"Within one of you duelists exists the last remaining fragment of the Champion of Time's strength," At this point in time Nix looks at each individual duelist one by one, taking time to examine them as he speaks. "Within one of you exists the last remaining chance to beat the evil, take back the powers of the Champion of Time and then fix the errors in the time stream.

"To unlock the powers within you, what you need to do is be placed under great stress. Therefore by having you enter this tournament you shall undergo the stress that will force the powers to surface.

"If you do so, you will rise to a higher place and risk your life fighting the every growing budding darkness of the world. Knowing this and the consequences of the tournament, do you still accept your entry into the tournament?

A long silence takes place as the individual duelists each process this new information and their feelings by themselves. Hesitation and doubt surround each duelist. Even with all the knowledge and all the explanations, no one could truly say they understood what was exactly going on. They all just wait in silence.

"Ok, then. This is the easiest decision I've ever had to make," Kael states with a proud dominance as he steps forward. "I accept my invitation to the tournament."

"Wait, what? Are you sure?" Lily asks, showing a rare genuine concern for her close friend.

"Hey don't worry so much. All he's asking from us is that we play Duel Monsters. How bad can that be?" Kael responds cheerfully to the girl behind him, though she doesn't share his calm.

"The Masked Duelist never runs away from a duel!" the young boy to their left shouts as he also takes a step forward before striking a dramatic pose. "I accept your challenge!"

"Figgy what are you doing?" Kiya asks while her hand reaches out to grab a hold of her friend.

"It's ok, the kid's right," Chase answers for his friend calmly. "He just wants us to play a couple of games. I don't think that's too much to ask for."

"Hey, Mr. Uotan, I accept the challenge too," Chase speaks to the larger guardian while moving forward. When Kiya looks over at Chase she could swear she could almost see a sparkle in his usually blank eyes.

"Fine!" Lily yells while making her stand forward. The doubt and confusion in her eyes has all been replaced by determination and strength. "I shall also enter this tournament."

"I'm not going to be the only one out!" Omega declared. He rushes over and tackles Kael. "I'm entering this tournament too!"

Kiya watches as one by one, all of the duelists enter into the tournament. None of them know the outcome or realize the danger that may come. Kiya remembers a quote she saw in a movie a while back.

'Some duelists have no fear. To them this is just one more challenge. They follow their hearts. That is what sets them apart and will make them great duelists.'

Kiya finally thinks she understand a bit of what they were talking about as she looks at these five kids take up test. Each one doesn't care about the questions or the doubt; they all see their own dreams in front of them. With their dreams close by, they all continue forward with a courage that gives them the strength to challenge any obstacle.

Kiya sighs, lifting her head to look at the massive Guardian of Time. 'He doesn't look so scary,' she says to herself.

"I accept your challenge!"


	4. Duel 1

AN: I want to thank everyone who has stuck through for the past 3 chapters. i know they were slow and i know they had funky logic. i hope you understand that i did everything to get to the point where i am now in the story and begin telling the stories i want to tell. the next chapters are going to be much better and much more lively

in short, expect the story to Shift Into Turbo!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the cards mentioned in this story or this chapter. i did create all the characters myself, but thats beside the point, right.

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Duel 1: Bonds of the Forsaken

"I thank you all once again for your courage and commitment to this cause." The great massive guardian speaks to the six young determined children. "We should begin immediately and not waste any time.

"The tournament shall be based off of points rather than elimination style with brackets. Winners gain points, and the winner of the tournament shall be determined by who has the most points at the end of the tournament."

"What is he talking about?" Kiya asks, unfamiliar with the tournament structure and the overall structure in general.

"He is saying that we won't be playing a normal tournament, we are going to be playing Swiss instead," Lily answers with a prideful know-it-all tone, "In Swiss you continue playing even if you lose. You play a predetermined number of rounds and find out who had the most wins at the end of the rounds."

"That's a strange style to play for a tournament. It certainly isn't the fastest way to organize play, but I can see it being used if it emphasized getting the players to be involved in more games," Chase comments with his usual curious nature.

"That is correct. I use this so that there are more times to place pressure upon you and release the Champion of Time's powers from you," Nix replies.

"But wouldn't an elimination style tournament put more pressure on us and get the powers to reveal themselves quicker?" Chase responds, surprising his friends with his complete confidence even when speaking to someone much more powerful than him.

"Do not worry, I have found other ways to increase pressure on you. I have tied your dueling life points to your physical forms. When you take damage you will feel physical pain. It is tied to the nerves and therefore will cause no real damage to your body, but the pain you will feel will act to drive you even further."

"What do you mean by 'pain'? What are we talking about? Like a small punch or a torture session?" Kiya questions with great concern over the words.

"You will understand more once the tournament has begun."

Nix Uotan's reply does not help Kiya feel more confident about the situation, though she is surprised how her friends all seem to be too distracted to care about the comment. Everyone seemed to pay more attention to the amount of fun a full tournament is going to be or the detailing in the room. Kiya decides to keep quiet for the moment.

"So what are you waiting for? Let's get this tournament rolling!!" The Masked Duelist shouts. He pumps his fist into the air with a powerful confidence that spreads to Omega who copies his movement.

"Very well then, I shall randomly choose the first pair of duelist for the first match now." The great guardian goes silent for a moment but makes no physical movement. He merely stands still like a statue for a long portion of time.

"Lily and Figgy will now enter the dueling arena for the first match of the tournament." He then states simply.

"It's the Masked Duelist! The_ Masked Duelist_!!!" The Masked Duelist shouts with great embarrassment. "Seriously, I bet Batman never had this problem. Or Superman, everyone respects his secret identity."

"Your identity is hardly a secret!" Kiya snaps.

"Well it doesn't matter too much. I do get to be the opening act for the tournament. That alone is epic beyond belief," The Masked Duelist concludes. He doesn't hide the fact that he is very happy about his dueling arrangement, at least happier about it than his opponent, who suddenly became speechless at the mention of it.

Lily is still standing quietly and alone while she processes the details of this information. Thoughts and ideas run across her head before she can fully examine and detail them. All she can do is just stand there frozen.

"Will the duelists make their way to the arena now?" Nix Uotan orders. His words wake the dazed Lily who stands as a ghost of her former self. She mindlessly begins her walk up the steps to the raised arena. The Masked Duelist makes his way on the opposite side of her

The two duelists enter their positions as they walk onto the elevated platform. The rest of the duelists, their friends and fellow heroes, take their place on the sidelines as they watch the beginning of the tournament.

The two duelists, the Masked Duelist known as Figgy and Lily couldn't be more different. The Masked Duelist was highly dressed with a red vest over a blue long sleeve shirt. His most dominant clothing came from the bike helmet he wore over his head with a visor to cover his eyes and the giant cape on his back.

Lily was more human and normal in her clothing choice; she wore a small blue button up shirt with no sleeves and a skirt.

"Duelists, approach the center of the ring to shake hands."

The Masked Duelist and Lily walk towards the center slowly. Lily continues to brood over her curiosity about the mysterious duelist. The two duelists reach the center of the stage where they both stand facing each other directly.

The Masked Duelist surprises Lily by moving first, he raises both hands to his helm where he lifts the visors that over his eyes. For the first time Lily is able to see his uncovered face. His features are undeniably familiar; large bushy eyebrows, his great clumsy smile, there is no doubt in her mind that the man before her is her own father.

The Masked Duelist puts his hand out before he speaks to her, "Let's have a fun duel!"

The words are so familiar in her mind. They bring back memories of her father when she was young, saying the same exact words to her. He joked and messed up often during the duel; it was an easy victory on her part, even for a child. She felt humiliated by her father, who she felt disgraced her with his almost purposely bad dueling skills. It wasn't until years later she realized that he wasn't acting, he really was that foolish. That her father was a screw up who not only made mistakes in every aspect of his life, but placed no effort in to change these mistakes.

The memories brought on by the words along with the image of the child before her makes Lily livid, but she doesn't show it. Instead, she goes along with the motions, shaking the boy's hand and beginning her walk back to her side of the court.

Lily remembers being forced to grow up early to take the burden that was left over from her father's ineptitude. She remembers being forced to set up payments for bills, having to talk to bosses and take the responsibility for a child who was supposed to be her parent. Lily remembers having to forfeit tournaments to take care of her father or to fix one of his numerous mistakes.

Lily reaches the end of the court. She turns around to face her opponent who stands opposite her, staring back. Lily remembers memories of a lifetime of looking at the horrible disgusting loser of a figure called her father, a man who this boy in front of her would grow up to be.

"_Fun_ duel? You're a complete and utter dimwit," Lily condescendingly speaks to the boy. "This is the most important tournament we will ever be a part of. The winner of this tournament shall be a part of something far greater than they could ever imagine. This is a tournament about winning, because everyone else here will be doing everything they can to win.

"_Fun_? Fun has no place here in a tournament of champions. Fun is an irresponsible word used by children who don't understand the way the world works. The very fact that you would dare bring up that word in such a serious, respectful place is shameful to yourself and to your opponent."

"What are you going on about?" the Masked Duelist asks, dumbfounded. Lily doesn't know if he is serious or is joking but it doesn't matter to her, either way she is ticked off by his continued attitude.

"Do you not speak English? Are you retarded?" Lily angrily shouts causing even little Omega to flinch at the sound of her hate-filled voice. Lily realizes she has gone too far and attempts to calm herself down.

"Fine, if words can't reach you then I guess I'll have to teach you with a duel," Lily more calmly states as she readies her duel disk.

"Now you're talking my type of language." The Masked Duelist replies as he readies his duel disk in preparation.

"Let's Duel!" Both players draw their five cards and life points set at 8000 each.

"Now I'm going to show you how a real duelist plays." Lily says angrily. She draws her card for her turn and then gets started (L: 8000/MD: 8000).

"I set one monster in face down defense position, I then set one card face down, and end my turn," The two cards appear on the field in front of her, one set horizontally in front and one in the back set in a vertical position.

"I thought you were going to show me how a real duelist plays?" the Masked Duelist questions Lily's defensive play. The female duelist doesn't answer, instead just waiting for her opponent to continue.

"Fine then, it's my turn," The masked man states as he begins his turn with his draw. Looking at his hand, he smiles excitedly at the cards

"I normal summon the heroic Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin onto the field!" The Masked Duelist proudly declares as his half-man half-dolphin monster appears onto the field in front of him.

"Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin's ability activates; if I discard my Elemental Hero Necroshade from my hand, I get to look at your hand and destroy one monster that has less attack points than one monster on my field. So let's see the cards!"

Large images of Lily's cards appear above her head revealing the contents of her hand. The Masked Duelist frowns at first glance, unable to recognize any of the revealed cards, but settles for continuous with the effect at hand.

"I see a monster with zero attack points, that monster is destroyed!" He declares loudly while Lily sends her Copy Plant to the graveyard. "Then you take 500 points of direct damage!"

Lily feels a very real sting in her right arm that surprised her. Lily screams in pain before she grasps onto her arm tightly.

'So this is what he meant by real pain,' Lily thinks to herself as she examines the damage to her body in proportion to her life points which stand at 7500 (8000 – 500). Meanwhile on the sidelines, Kael and the other duelists are very shocked.

"Lily, are you ok?" Kael calls out to his friend. Lily looks over to him before she forces herself to let go of her arm.

"I'm fine."

"You don't have to do this. We could just walk back right now and no one will think anything less of you."

"What are you, stupid? I said I was fine! It just surprised me, that's all." Lily responds fiercely to Kael's statement. She then looks back to her opponent.

The Masked Duelist hesitates, his smile fades and his face fills with doubt. His mouth his open trying to speak but the words he tries to say elude him.

"Make your move already, damn it!" Lily screams "You better not hold back on me for my sake, because I sure as hell am not going to hold back on you."

Her opponent smiles before nodding his head before continuing. "I end my turn."

"Then it's my turn." Lily states as she draws her card (L: 7500/MD: 8000). "I'm going to start by flipping my Dark Vedure face-up onto the field."

Her face down defense position monster is flipped to reveal a small plant with a mere two leaves.

"Next I activate two continuous spell cards, The World Tree and Seed Cannon." The two continuous spell cards manifest onto the field. To Lily's left manifest a great large tree and to her right grows a large flower plant with many buds but no blossoming heads.

"I activate the normal spell card Super Nourished Sun. By tributing one level two or lower plant type monster I can special summon a plant with less than or equal to that level of the monster tributed plus 3. Say goodbye to Dark Vedure and say hello to Gigantic Celphalotus!"

The spell card manifests itself as a card before a white circular portal appears behind Dark Vedure. Dark Vedure leaps into the portal and disappears before the Gigantic Cephalotus comes out of the Portal. The Gigantic Cephalotus is a large man-sized walking Venus flytrap with a large tongue that whips around in every direction in front of it. The monstrous creature with a full 1850 attack points roars at the opposing Dolphin man.

"Because a Plant type monster was summoned onto the field my Seed Cannon spell card gains a counter," Lily declares as she points to one of the buds on the flower plant that begins to blossoms until it's a beautiful flower. "But I'm not finished quite yet."

"I normal summon Cactus Fighter onto the field," a large man-shaped cactus appears onto the field to join her other monster. "Because I summoned another plant monster, my Seed Cannon spell card gains yet another counter."

Another bud blossoms into a flower head making two of the five buds fully blossomed flower heads.

"Before I enter the battle phase, I activate the continuous trap card Ivy Shackles. This card makes it so that on every one of my turns all of your monsters are treated as plant type monsters!" Lily explains while her face down card rises to reveal the said trap card. Vines come out of the trap cards picture before trapping the Masked Duelist's Aqua Dolphin, who struggles to resist the plants power.

"Now, Cactus Fighter, attack Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!" Lily commands On command, her great Cactus Fighter hunches down before releasing a barrage of needles at the defending monster before Aqua Dolphin shatters into silver shards.

"Aqua Dolphin!" the Masked Duelist shouts before being interrupted by a sharp pain in his right leg. He grasps onto his leg as he screams from the pain representing his life points dropping to 6700 (8000 + 600 – 1900).

"Because a Plant monster was destroyed, The World Tree gains a counter and Gigantic Cephalotus gains 200 attack points." The large tree in front of Lily bears a single ripe apple like fruit and the Gigantic Cephalotus grows slightly in size as its attack points raise to 2050.

"Because Cactus Fighter destroyed a monster a Needle token is summoned onto your field. Because another plant monster was summoned my Seed Cannon gains another counter." Lily explains coldly as a small mini cactus is formed onto the Masked Duelist' side of the field, causing another bud to bloom.

"Now, Gigantic Cephalotus, attack the Needle Token!" Gigantic Cephalotus does as it is commanded and reaches out with its disgusting long tongue to grab the needle token and swallows it whole.

"Because a plant monster was destroyed, the World Tree gains a counter and Gigantic Cephalotus gains yet another 200 attack points." Again, the large tree bears more fruit in the form of a single apple like crop and the Gigantic Cephalotus grows even larger in size as its attack increases to 2250.

"I end my turn." Lily states confidently.

"Wow, what in the world happened just now? I'm so confused!" Kiya states as she grips her head with both hands, "Too many cards, too many effects!"

"Lily's combo of cards is genius!" Chase says almost energetically. Kiya quickly turns over to Chase.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she has five cards on the field. Cactus Fighter and Ivy Shackles both work to make sure her opponent have plenty of plant monsters on the field being summoned and destroyed. Meanwhile The World Tree, Gigantic Cephalotus and Seed Cannon feed off the plant monsters being summoned and destroyed." Chase says analytically. "It's actually a brilliant combo."

"Still, Lily spent all her cards on that one play," Kiya comments on noting the lack of cards in Lily's hand.

"True, true, but most of those spells still haven't left the field; they stay in the form of continuous magic cards. I guess it depends on what effects those magic cards have that will determine whether it was the right move to go all out like this."

"Trust me; Lily's plays are always solid." Kael vouches for his friend. "She won her first tournament by the age of eight. She was the top duelist in our city by the age of ten. Lily is truly that woman's daughter."

Chase and Kiya stand in awe of KC's claims. They turn their attention to their friend alone on the battlefield fighting against a genius. They begin to look towards him with hope that he may overcome his powerful opponent.

"My turn," The Masked Duelist declares with his draw (L: 7500/MD: 6700). He looks through his hand for a short while before continuing with his play.

"I normal summon Elemental Hero Prisma," The Masked Duelist declares as shards of light around him come together to form the hero made of diamond and crystals. A man made of clear stones, Elemental Hero Prisma sparkles and shines bright light upon the field with its mighty 1700 attack points.

"I activate Elemental Hero Prisma's effect; I can send one fusion material monster to my grave to give Prisma its name. So I send Elemental Hero Neos to the grave." The image of Elemental Hero Neos begins to show over the faces of Elemental Hero Prisma's many crytstals.

"Now I equip Elemental Hero Prisma with the ultimate, epic equip magic card, Neos Force, increasing its attack points by 800 which gives Prisma a total of 2500 attack points!" The Masked Duelist explains as he activates the said equip magic card. Prisma begins to shine even brighter than before with a bright white aura surrounding it.

"Elemental Hero Prisma, attack Gigantic Cephalotus!" Like a shooting star, Elemental Hero Prisma flies right through the large plant, entering one side and appearing out the other. Lily feels a bit of pain flow through her body as her life points lower to 7250 (7500 + 2250 – 2500), but not enough to cause any real reaction from the strong girl.

"Neos Force's ability activates. When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, Neos Force deals damage to my opponent's life points equal to the destroyed monsters attack points!"

Lily is surprised but quickly clenches her body before the pain passes through as her life points lower down to 5000 (7250 – 2250).

"Yes! See? He was able to defeat her strongest monster!" Kiya exclaims with great excitement for her friend's triumph, but Chase doesn't share her excitement.

"Maybe, but the Equip Magic card Neos Force only last for one turn, it shuffles itself back to the deck after that," Chase reminds her as the bright aura around Prisma fades away, along with the images of Elemental Hero Neos inside Prisma, leaving the simple 1700 attack point monster.

"Because another plant monster was destroyed The World Tree gains a counter." Lily declares softly as her large tree bears a third fruit. The Masked Duelist hardly even notices this and just continues to smile happily as he takes in his small victory.

"I end my turn," The Masked Duelist declares with a bright confident smile. He lets out a small sigh of relief as he ends his round.

"What are you so happy about? Destroying one of my monsters? Having dealt damage to me? You are a fool. Rule number one, you must prepare for your opponent's actions and retaliation. Look at yourself; you don't even have a face-down card to defend yourself. How do you expect to live, not to mention win this duel, without preparation for the future?"

The Masked Duelist doesn't answer Lily's angry attacks against him.

"That's right, you can't. Let me show you something I like to call strategy," Lily yells as she draws the card for her turn (L: 5000/MD: 6700).

At the beginning of her turn, the vines come out of the Ivy Shackle trap card and grab a hold of Prisma, transforming him into a plant type.

"I can remove three counters from my The World Tree spell card to special summon one plant monster from my graveyard. So return, my Gigantic Cephalotus!" Lily declares as she releases the three fruits of her great tree. The three fruits are released into white energy substances that form another portal from which the mighty Gigantic Cephalotus returns from. "As you can see, you can't get rid of my monster, for each time you destroy it my The World Tree gains counters that I can use to return it to the field. I played this in preparation for any attacks you may have come up with, and it is because of this preparation that I will defeat you!

"Of course, because a plant monster was summoned onto the field my Seed Cannon spell card gains another counter," Lily states, pointing to a fourth bud that blossoms into a flower leaving just one bud left on the magical plant.

"Now then, it's time to destroy any hope you had, Cactus Fighter destroy Elemental Hero Prisma!" On call, the cactus-man fires a multitude of needles to the hero shattering the hero into a million shards of light. Figgy endures another 200 points of damage and pain as his life points lower down to 6500 (6700 + 1700 – 1900).

"A plant monster was destroyed so The World Tree gains another counter and Gigantic Cephalotus gain 200 attack points."

"Because Cactus Fight destroyed a monster a Needle token is summoned onto your side of the field. Because another plant type monster was summoned onto the field Seed Cannon gains a counter.

"Gigantic Cephalotus attack the Needle token!" Gigantic Cephalotus' large tongue reaches over and grasps onto the Needle' token to drag it into its mouth whole.

"Another plant monster was destroyed so The World Tree gains another counter and Gigantic Cephalotus gains 200 attack points."

The battle phase ends with a large 2250 attack point Gigantic Cephalotus, The World Tree with two more fruit ripe for the picking, and five beautiful flowers on the Seed Cannon spell card.

"Now that I have five wonderful counters on my Seed Cannon spell card I can send it to the graveyard to deal direct damage to you, 500 for each counter!" Lily shouts, sending the spell card to the graveyard to activate the ability. Each of the five flowers fires a seed like a missile to the undefended Masked Duelist which explode on contact. The Masked Duelist stands firm though his life points reach down to 4000 (6500 – 2500).

"I play a second copy of the Continuous Spell card Seed Cannon to take the place of the last one before I end my turn." Lily declares as she sets the card, summoning up a second flower where the first one was.

"These cards work together as one unit, one card. There is no room for any mistakes; no room for any simple random plays, a real duelist has their deck work for one purpose and one goal."

Lily notices the Masked Duelist unaffected by her explanation on him. She takes a deep breath to calm down.

"Listen; trust me when I say that how a duelist plays reflects on her entire life. Your lack of traps reflects a short sightedness and general ignorance of consequences. Your card effects are random, the lack of a center to your deck reflects to a lack of a center in your life. You have no goals or objectives that you are attempting to reach.

"This lifestyle might work in the here and now while you're in high school, but in a couple years you will be leaving high school. Once you have to leave your school, once that time comes you will be forced to grow up. You can't live life like this, the sooner you change the better," she finishes.

"You're right about one thing; this deck is a representation of me. Inside, this deck contains my heart and soul, and it is with it that I can express myself better than anything else.

"I may not be as good with words as you are but I am good on the dueling field. I'll respond to everything you have with these precious cards of mine!" The Masked Duelist announces publicly for all to hear while he draws his card (L: 5000/MD: 4000).

"I activate the normal magic card E-Emergency Call to search my deck for an Elemental Hero card and put it into my hand," The Masked Duelist states taking his deck and searching it for the Elemental Hero who would best fit the situation. "I choose Elemental Hero Neos Alias, who I will now summon onto the field."

A smaller, teenage version of the great Elemental Hero appears onto the field. He isn't as tall nor is his body as strong or fit, but he still contains a strong punch with a full 1900 attack points.

"Next, I play the normal magic card H-Heated Heart to give my Elemental Hero Neos Alias 500 more attack points, raising him up to 2400, more than Gigantic Cephalotus!"

A fiery aura surrounds the small warrior empowering him with even greater strength than before.

"Elemental Hero Neos Alias, attack Gigantic Cephalotus!"

The great warrior charges into combat but the Gigantic Cephalotus is prepared and sends out its large monstrous tongue. Neos Alias is faster than the plant and catches the tongue with its bare hands. Neos Alias then pulls the Gigantic Cephalotus towards him to meet him with a kick that destroys the plant monster in a large explosion. Lily barely makes any show of the pain that goes through her as her life point's change to 4850 (5000 + 2250 – 2400).

"The World Tree gains another counter for the destruction of my monster," Lily states as the great tree next to her bears its third fruit, ripe for usage.

"Why would he do that? Lily is just going to revive her monster again with the World Tree," Kiya questions on the sidelines.

"Yes she could, but what good would it do her? Just look at their attack points." Chase explains methodically pointing out Gigantic Cephalotus' 1850, Cactus Fighter's 1900 and Elemental Neos' Alias 1900.

"Oh I kind of get it. She can't destroy Neos Alias without sacrificing one of her own monsters!" Kiya states correctly.

"Yes, but this is still a weak stall at best. Your friend over their still isn't in control of this duel at all. His strategy is based off of her moves and her decisions, in other words, he's freely giving her control of the duel, not a good thing when dealing with Lily," Kael adds as he watches the duel.

"You're such a fool," Lily states as she draws her card while Neos Alias is turned into a plant by the powers of Ivy Shackle (L: 4850/MD: 4000). "I remove a counter from the World Tree to give Cactus Fighter 400 extra attack points giving it plenty of room to destroy your monster without being destroyed itself.

Now go, my plant warrior, destroy Elemental Hero Neos Alias!" the plant fires out is barrage of needles that strike the heroic Neos Alias, destroying him. In his dust a small little Needle token stands while the Seed Cannon plant has another lovely flower bloom where a bud used to stand. The Masked Duelist grunts as not only his life points drain down to 3600 (4000 + 1900 – 2300) but his powerful monster was destroyed with such ease.

"Because a plant monster is destroyed, my World Tree gains a counter, one that I will quickly release along with its two other sisters to revive my Gigantic Cephalotus." Repeating last turn's events, the three fruits are released, sending their energies to create a portal from which Gigantic Cephalotus is summoned from.

"Seriously, did you expect to beat me with brute strength? It's such a primitive male style of thinking. If you want to make it in the world, you must be willing to broaden your horizons and find new abstract solutions to the obstacles you face. It will take work, it will take effort, but you must learn to work for it."

"Who says that I want to overcome those obstacles? In fact, who says what these obstacles are? I don't know, I sort of feel like you're not exactly talking to me. Could it be that you really want to say all of this to someone else?"

Lily turns bright red from being caught red handed. She becomes speechless, totally taken back into a defensive state at the comment.

"Wow, could that be true?" Kiya asks examining the current position of the duelist.

"Maybe…Probably… Questions that come up include why she is saying it to him, and who she is really trying to talk to?" Chase investigates quietly before giving out a signature sigh, "what a hassle, really."

Kael, knowing fully the answer to Chase's questions, doesn't speak. Instead, he spends his time examining the dueling field. 'Lily really has control of the field but she did mess up and let her opponent keep control of one of the Needle tokens. Giving your opponent tokens is usually a bad thing, but she's usually able to destroy them quickly enough so that they don't get the chance to use them. By giving him that one token she may have planted the seed to her own defeat.'

"I'll give you an example as I break past your awesome plant combo!" The Masked Duelist declares boldly with the draw of his card (L: 4850/MD: 3600). "I'll start my turn by summoning another of my favorite Neo-Spacians, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss!"

The space alien made of a bright glowing substance appears on the field. Though her form may be tough to see due to the bright light she discharges, she is of humanoid form.

"I release her for the normal magic card NEX. I then special summon from the fusion deck her upgraded form, Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss onto the field!" The bright alien grows in size becoming a more definite figure along with her increase in size, though the increase in attack power isn't proportionate with only 500 attack points..

"When Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss attacks I draw a card and reveal it. Depending on what type of card it is, I get a different effect! Go Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss, attack!" The Masked Duelist draws the top card of the deck, glancing at it before revealing it for all to see. "It's the spell card Cocoon Rebirth, so Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss attacks directly!"

The moss alien sends a vibrant wave of sound that pushes Lily back while her life points are lowered down to 4350 (4850 – 500).

"I then end my turn."

Lily frowns at the monster opposing her as she draws her card (L: 4350/MD: 3600). She makes no comment, no insult, no jab, and her eyes narrow down to those of a careful duelist examining every factor of the situation. The cards on the field, the cards in the graveyard, even her opponent's very expression doesn't escape her notice.

"I shall attack your space alien with Cactus Fighter." The large cactus man pulls in for a short moment before releasing a volley of needles to the small Neo-Spacian but not before being interrupted by Lily's opponent.

"When Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss enters combat I get to draw a card again and get another one of her abilities!" The Masked Duelist shouts with a great passion, drawing his card and revealing its contents to his opponent. "The monster card is Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, so your battle phase ends early!"

Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss raises her hands forward summoning up a barrier of sound that deflects all of the needles from getting close to striking her or her master.

"Yes, this is exactly the type of monster Figgy needed to stay in this duel! Lily's combo feeds off of the battle phase and with Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss' ability to control the battle phase; her combo is halted to a stop! Figgy may win this thing yet!" Kiya exclaims from the sideline, cheering for her friend.

"I gotta admit, your friend sure is lucky!" Kael spoke aloud to them.

"Then it's my turn again!" The Masked Duelist says while beginning his turn (L: 4350/MD: 3600) "I'll start off with Twinkle Moss' attack! Let's see what's on the top of my deck!"

The young duelist draws the top card and quickly reveals it for all to see. "It's the magic card Cocoon Party, so Neo Spacian-Twinkle Moss attacks directly!"

The alien fires another wave of sound straight at her opponent, not causing much damage but still enough to lower Lily's life points down to 3850 (4350 – 500).

"I'm not done yet, I play Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!" The man bird monster is summoned onto the field. The Alien has a bird head with a large beak and two white wings attached to its red feathery body. Though the winged beast takes a heroic pose on the field it lacks the attack power to really make a different, with its pathetic 800 attack points.

"I active Air Hummingbird's ability, once per turn I can gain 500 life points for each card in your hand. Go, Air Hummingbird!" The Masked Duelist calls out while Air Hummingbird flies over to Lily's hand where flowers sprout out of the three cards in her hand. His monster then drinks the energy of the cards and sends it over to his master, whose life points raise up to 5100 (3600 + 1500).

"Still clinging to life?" Lily comments on her opponent's play, not even attempting to hide her dissatisfaction.

"It's better than clinging to death, right?"

"Wrong! Clinging to life for life's sake alone is meaningless. Living without purpose is no better than not living at all. One must always be struggling not to live but to succeed. You should be clinging to victory and not to the mere chance of continuing to live."

"Hey, as long as I'm alive there is still a chance for victory right?" Lily's opponent replies as he sets a face down card. "I end my turn."

"Chances are only what duelist make," Lily declares drawing her card (L: 3850/MD: 5100). The female duelist struggles as she looks for an opening, no matter how small in his defense.

It was during this thorough examination she found a peculiar error in the dueling field. Her Seed Cannon spell card had four bloomed flowers instead of two.

Lily tried to search back to the plants that were summoned onto the field. Lily remembers Gigantic Cephalotus being special summoned after Neos Alias' attack, she also remembers the token summoned from Cactus Fighter destroyed the devastating plant monster, but she couldn't remember any other plant monsters being summoned.

Lily knew the duel disk is never wrong, so there must me something she was missing. Lily then found her opening.

"I have found the Achilles heel to your invulnerable defense, Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss is a plant type monster, and plants are my domain! I activate the spell card Fragrance Storm to destroy one plant monster on the field! Of course I choose Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss to be destroyed"

The Masked Duelist cries out, unable to prevent his monster from being destroyed in a loud explosion right before his eyes.

"Then I get to draw a card," Lily explains her action while she does them. "I reveal the card I drew, Botanical Lion. Because it is a plant type I get to draw another card."

"Now that your defenses are open it's time for an attack, Cactus Fighter attack Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"

Air Hummingbird takes flight to the air where it has plenty of room to maneuver. Still, Cactus Fighter's massive volley of needles makes it nearly impossible for the alien bird to find safety, doing so is like a man attempting to dodge the ocean itself.

The Masked Duelist reaches up to the sky as he watches his monster consumed in a fiery explosion. The young duelist hisses while his arm tenses up, his hand closing tightly, from the intense pain of his life points lowering down to 4000 (5100 + 800 – 1900). The Needles come together to form a mini cactus Needle Token on the Masked Duelist's field.

"Gigantic Cephalotus, eat that Needle Token!" the horrendous plant launches out its frightening tongue and consumes the mini cactus whole.

"My Seed Cannon spell card has gained its full five counters which I will now release to deal 2500 points of direct damage!" The five buds, all of which had indeed bloomed into massive flowers, now fire a series of seeds at the Masked Duelist. The entire room is filled with cries of pain while his life points lower down to 1500 (4000 – 2500).

The Masked Duelist, though injured, stands strong as he looks towards Lily, before breaking out into a smile. His smile grows into a chuckle that evolves into full unrestricted laughter.

Lily is confused by his laughter in the face of his own defeat. The idea that he could laugh while failing didn't make any sense to her.

"What's so funny? Do you think it's funny that I defeated your monsters? Or do you have some greater plan up your sleeve?"

"What? No, it's nothing like that. It's just that I thought for sure I had you that time. You really are a fantastic duelist, I'm really happy that my opponent got to be you."

"Of course I'm good. I worked hard to get the way I am. This deck didn't just build itself. I studied hard, examined the metagame and various strategies around me. I spent years looking through different card strategies and different approaches to dueling. I spent even more work and time to be able to gather the money needed to buy the cards. This deck is the accumulation of a lifetime of hard work and sweat. If it wasn't good then all of that would have been wasted."

"That's pretty amazing. I wish I had a cool story about me and my deck."

"Don't joke, I'm serious! I don't need pity points from you."

"Hey I'm serious!"

"I don't need your empty compliments, I don't need your help, I just need you to make your move already!" Lily shouts, obviously angry beyond reasoning.

The Masked Duelist gets the cue and doesn't push her any further than he already has.

"Before you end your turn, I activate the trap card Hero Blast. It lets me return a normal monster Elemental Hero to my hand and destroy a monster you control with less attack points than it."

"And I select Elemental Hero Neos! It has 2500 attack points so I can destroy your Gigantic Cephalotus!"

"How many times do I have to tell you it's useless to fight back? All you're doing is giving more counters to the World Tree spell card, which can return Gigantic Cephalotus onto my field!" Lily points out as she adds another counter to the World Tree spell card.

"That's not the part of the effect you should be worried about. It's the other effect of Hero Blast that he was aiming for, returning Elemental Hero Neos to his hand!" Kiya yells loudly to gain Lily's attention.

"So what if he has his little normal monster?" Lily asks half-heartedly not knowing the danger that awaits her.

"I'll give you a heads up since you don't know him well. Elemental Hero Neos is his favorite monster, but it's far more than just that. You could call it his Miracle card, it doesn't matter how grim the situation looks, if he has Elemental Hero Neos then there is always a chance."

"Ha! You lie!"

"I'm serious, but don't take my word for it. I'm calling it right now, by next turn he will have broken your combo," Kiya states, a grin on her face.

Lily was silent. She stared down at the Kiya and saw no doubt in her eyes. She then turns to look at her opponent in front of her. She still can't see his eyes masked by the helm on his head but the unmistakable confident smile was still standing. "I set one card face down on the field."

Lily tells herself that she set the card down because it's better to safe than sorry, Because it makes her combo complete, any other reason than because she is scared that the kid in front of her might actually make a come back.

"My Turn!" the Masked Duelist yells aloud (L: 3850/MD: 1500) "I'll start this turn with the magic card, Cocoon Party!

This magic card lets me summon one Chrysalis monster from my deck for each Neo-Spacian in my graveyard. So allow me to special summon Chrysalis Dolphin, Chrysalis Chicky and Chrysalis Pinny!"

The spirits of the three Neo-Spacians appear for a moment as three eggs fill his field. Each egg contains a baby version of a Neo-Spacian, these ones containing tiny versions of Aqua Dolphin, Air Hummingbird and Glow Moss.

"I then activate the continuous magic card Cocoon Rebirth. This magic card lets me release my Chrysalis monsters to special summon their respective Neo-Spacian from the graveyard! So my Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird and Neo-Spacian Glow Moss all return to the field!"

The eggs each hatch and rapidly evolve into their Neo-Spacian counterparts. The Neo-Spacians flocks around the Masked Duelist.

"I'll activate Air Hummingbird's ability, increasing my life points by 500 points for each card in your hand!" The Masked Duelist shouts, sending his bird to his opponent. Lily is surprised once again by the large flowers that appear out of her cards which Air Hummingbird drinks from, sending their strength to his holder. The Masked Duelist closes his eyes silently as he feels the healing powers of increasing life points return him to 2500 (1500 + 1000).

"Next, I'll tribute my Needle token and Neo-Spacian Glow Moss to summon Elemental Hero Neos onto the field," The mini cactus and alien moss disappear into shards of light that join together to form a single form, Elemental Hero Neos. The large white alien takes his side next to his master. The heroic being is in inhumanly perfect shape, with a body that is flawless in every way. With no mouth, the silent fighter can only speak in exaggerated movements the likes of which you would likely see in a children's movie.

Lily looks at the Masked Duelist' signature card, doubt forming in her mind; not doubt that her opponent was able to pull off such a extraneous play, but doubt whether any of this would matter. Elemental Hero Neos was still just a normal monster and had nothing but pure brute force behind it, or so it seemed.

"It is time for Triple Contact Fusion! Contact Fusion is a special type of fusion that Elemental Hero Neos can do with Neo-Spacians that doesn't require the magic card Polymerization! All I have to do is send the fusion material monsters to the deck!"

"So by sending Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird, Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin and Elemental Hero Neos back to the deck I can summon a stronger monster!" The Masked Duelist explains. The roof of the room seemingly vanishes to reveal the far reaches of space itself. The young duelist raises his hand as his monsters fly off to the edge of the universe itself, giving birth to a new hero. The ceiling changes again, this time being taken over by large grey clouds. The clouds spin around a center, an eye of the storm that pulls them all together. It is from that very eye that a new hero descends upon the world.

"I present Elemental Hero Storm Neos!" The Masked Duelist states proudly. His monster, a blue hero equipped with large arm guards with and claws at the end, two massive wings attached to his chest piece and helm designed like a bird's head, stays high above the dueling field with the winds flowing around it.

"I activate Elemental Hero Storm Neos' ability, once per turn I may destroy all magic or trap cards on the field!"

"What?!?" Lily cries out in disbelief, realizing the full power of what he just stated. The wind swiftly picks up its pace causing a storm within the field. Lily places her arms in front of her to shield her from the immense winds that consume her. one by one all of the magic and trap cards begin being destroyed, the large World Tree, the beautiful Seed Cannon, the now useless defense card she laid face-down last turn—Wall of Thorns, even the Masked Duelist's own Cocoon Rebirth is destroyed. When the winds stop, all that remains on the field is Elemental Hero Storm Neos and Cactus Fighter.

Lily lowers her hands slowly, hesitant to accept the calm. She looks to her opponent at the direct opposite of the field.

"Elemental Hero Storm Neos attack Cactus Fighter." The Masked Duelist commands. His monster summons a powerful mini tornado that that engulfs the previously deadly plant before it dies in an explosion.

Lily grits her teeth to prevent any scream to leave her mouth as the pain of her life points lowering down to 2750 (3850 + 1900 – 3000) hits her.

"He did it! I can't believe he did it! He destroyed senpai's entire combo in one turn!" Omega states in complete and utter disbelief.

"That's awesome! His monster is amazing!" Kael comments with an enormous smile as he looks upon the new hero.

"I knew you could do it. I never doubted you for a second," Kiya whispers slightly as she looks on as her friend proves his worth in this tournament.

"I end my turn, and during my end phase Elemental Hero Storm Neos returns to the fusion deck," The Masked Duelist states calmly as if he wasn't stating that his one line of defense was disappearing before him leaving him open for a direct attack.

"What? Are you serious?" Omega shouts in complete and utter disbelief.

"That's not helping…" Kael comments with a very confused look on his face.

"You couldn't at least try to have some sort of defensive plan, could you?" Kiya rhetorically asks her friend as she watches him smile in the midst of his horrible position.

"Is this all your capable of? You destroyed my combo, I'll give you points for that, but your plays still lack foresight," Lily comments as she gathers her cool after her defeat.

"Hey, you don't have any cards on the field either. Our life points are both around the same and we both have two cards in our hands. This is a brand new game, prepare for round two!" The Masked Duelist yells to his opponent, his confidence in the face of overwhelming odds never fading for a second.

"Don't get cocky! One small victory doesn't mean you've won the duel just yet!" Lily bites back with a quick tongue (L: 2750/MD: 2500). "It's my turn now!

"When Ivy Shackles is destroyed by an opponent's effect I draw a card," Lily declares drawing an extra card.

"I summon the tuner Twilight Rose Knight onto the field." The small blue haired knight, dressed in purple armor appears onto the field, swinging a sword into the air.

"Tuner?" the Masked Duelist asks his opponent curiously, voicing the same question that ran through Kiya and Chase's heads.

"Tuner monsters are the power of the future, the next step in evolution that replaced those faulty fusion monsters of your generation. Tuners are the key to the future. I can tribute a Tuner monster and any number of non-tuners to special summon a Synchro Monster of equal level to the tributed monsters from my extra deck." Lily explains.

"Now when Twilight Rose Knight is normal summoned I get to special summon a level four or lower plant monster from my hand. I special summon Botanical Lion!" A lion made out of wood with a great large flower as its mane is summoned onto the field to join the knight.

"Now I'll tune my level 3 Twilight Rose Knight with my Level 4 Botanical Lion!

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon, appear now Black Rose Dragon!"

Black Rose Dragon, a huge dragon made from red rose petals appears on the field. Her monster with its full 2400 attack points lets loose a beautiful roar that overtakes the stadium.

"This is the tool of my victory. It is with this card that I will overcome the shackles that my father has placed upon me! Watch now as I reach a level you could never match in your wildest dreams!" Lily calls out speaking to an unknown audience with her signature Black Rose Dragon in front of her. "Black Rose Dragon, attack him directly!"

The mighty dragon unleashes a great purple fire upon the defenseless duelist. The fire consumes him, engulfing him in its powerful heated waves. After lasting for a full minute and a half of being burned in the dragons flames, the fire begins to let up, releasing the sizzled burnt hero with a mere 100 (2500 – 2400) life points left. Though his actual body and clothes are in no harm, his spirit has been dealt vicious blows.

The Masked Duelist stands for a short four seconds before he falls down to one knee, his balance kept by his right arm. Soon even that isn't enough and he puts his left arm, along with his remaining cards in hand, onto the floor to hold him up.

"That's it; we're ending this duel right now!" Kiya declares with a great confidence that gives her the strength to yell to the much more powerful guardian of time beside her.

"Wait!" the Masked Duelist calls out to his friend before coughing a couple times, "I can still play."

"But only just barely!" Kiya screams, her obvious concern getting the better of her.

"I want to play."

"Why do you do such illogical things? Do you enjoy pain and humiliation? Do you want to watch the plays as I beat you?" Lily asks condescendingly. She looks down upon him, but never smirks or never smiles. Her face is still serious, the same face she held at the beginning of the duel, the same face she held when her cards were destroyed, and the same face she held when she inflicted damage upon him.

"I do it because I have to. I'm not as strong as Kiya or Chase. I don't have their skills or their confidence; I'm not smart or strong. I continue to duel because I have to get stronger in order to stay around them longer. Because if I were to let up, then they would pass by me before I knew it."

"Just go and draw your card."

The Masked Duelist looks back at the two cards in his hand, an Equip Magic card and a Trap card. The Equip was no use without something to equip it to, and the Trap required a monster if it was going to help him at all.

The Masked Duelist struggles to keep himself solidly balanced as he reaches over to his deck. His hand hesitates for a moment on the top of the deck. The mysterious top card of the deck; Inside this single, powerful card lie the hopes and dreams of not only himself, his opponent, and those watching the duel from down below, but also of every other soul that has ever looked at or picked up a playing card. The mysterious top card of the deck; the card that can single handedly change history, skyrocketing people to near endless fame or ending careers before they ever started. The mysterious top card of the deck; within it is the power which every duelist worships like a strange unique deity of card games, giving up tributes to appease to her will. The mysterious top card of the deck; the card that contains more power than any card in the deck, and yet once drawn becomes no more powerful than any other ordinary card.

The Masked Duelist draws the top card of his deck (L: 2750/MD: 100).

"I activate Elemental Hero Necroshade's ability from the graveyard. For one time only, I can summon an Elemental Hero without a tribute." The Masked Duelist explains with the spirit of his monster behind him. He then reveals the card he drew for all to see, "I summon the greatest hero in the galaxy, Elemental Hero Neos!"

The white hero from space appears onto the field once more. He stands in a powerful stance, filled with infinite confidence in front of the young duelist whose heart and soul he contains with him. With his hands at his hips, he looks up at the face of his opponent, the Black Rose Dragon. The two monsters, both representing the will of their duelist, face each other.

"I equip Elemental Hero Neos with the Equip Magic card, Assault Armor," The Masked Duelist declares, placing the named card into his duel disk so that it may manifest itself onto the field. "Don't get too comfortable with it just yet, because I'm sending it to the graveyard to let my monster attack twice this turn."

"Elemental Hero Neos, attack Black Rose Dragon!" The heroic warrior soars into the air almost effortlessly in a direct path with Black Rose Dragon.

"I activate Guard Hedge's ability. By discarding it, once discarded I can choose one monster on my side of the field and that monster is immune to destruction by battle, but has its attack points halved during that turn," Lily explains while sending her card to the graveyard and Black Rose Dragon's attack points lower down to 1200 (2400/2). Elemental Hero Neos smashes his knee straight into middle of Black Rose Dragon who whimpers in pain. Lily begins to share that pain as her life points decrease down to 1450 (2750 + 1200 – 2500).

"Don't forget my monster's second attack! Elemental Hero Neos attack again. Wrath of Neos!" Elemental Hero Neos charges into the dragon for a second time, landing a bone shattering elbow strike into the dragon's mid section. The dragon starts to cry out in pain, letting out a sad music in its weakened state.

Lily takes another large hit to her body, one that causes her life points to drop all the way down to 150 (1450 + 1200 – 2500). The pain sends a jolt through her entire body, one powerful enough to knock her off balance and send her to the floor. Lily would have hit the ground too if it hadn't been for her pure will power that forced her legs to catch her. The rest of her body dangled downward with her body hunched over and her head shamefully pointed to the floor before her.

The room becomes unnaturally silent for the first time since the match had started. No longer did the duelists on the sidelines make comments about the duel; no longer did cheers of joy or praises of victory echo in the building great halls. Even her opponent, who was cheerful and happy even during his own falls, no longer smiled. The sight of the poor girl inflicted with such pain was not a sight that anyone could possibly find joy from.

The young girl makes no sound or sudden movement. Her first action since the attack comes in the form of a simple rising of the hand. Lily raises her right hand over to her face gently touching the skin while also protecting it. After an indefinite time period Lily lifts her body up along with her face of which only the left half is visible. Clearly and unmistakably one can see the tears that free fall down her face.

Tears have a variety of meanings. The most common of those meanings are great sadness, tremendous happiness or intense pain, but these tears on this young girl stood for none of those. These tears were the releasing of a lifetime of pent up emotion built up from a lifetime of disappointment and frustration. These tears were the releasing of a dam that had formed from living as a girl who spent her life banging on a wall that could never fall. These tears are the removing of a mask that had restrained the woman for most of her life.

Lily moves her face away from hiding under her hand. She bites her lip to repress any emotional whimpers she may make. Her hand makes a motion to tell her opponent to continue with his turn.

Her opponent stares blankly for a while, not knowing what action to take. The Masked Duelist then starts his move again, "I set a face-down and end my turn."

When he talks his voice lacks the joy or excitement that it previously contained. It's not scared or sad, but instead just calm as if purified from the emotions.

Lily too, hesitates to begin her turn. Her body shivers from the release of emotions she is feeling as she attempts to process them.

"I hate you. You who have no dreams cannot understand the pains of which we go through to accomplish them. You cannot understand the hardships we face everyday to reach our dreams."

"I do have dreams; they just aren't as large as yours. My dream is to live my life being myself. I dream of a simple life, one without the cape and helm. If I live out my days in some old shack in the middle of nowhere with my friends and those precious to me by my side then I'll be satisfied with my life."

"You may be satisfied with mediocrity but not everyone is! Your dream isn't without consequences, it will hold down those you claim are precious to you! It's a selfish dream."

"A hero isn't as selfless as everyone thinks. A hero's life is a lonely one. The path a hero must walk is always moving forward, with no time to look back or enjoy those that they left behind. Those precious to them are left with a large hole in their hearts, one that is hard to fill. If you were to ask me, those people who hold together those left behind are just as much a hero as the victorious champions, just in their own special way."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Lily shrieked with great fury in her voice. "I don't care about anything you have to say now. Nothing you can say can change what's been done! It's too late now!" Lily screams aloud while she draws her card to begin her turn (L: 150/MD: 100). Black Rose Dragon, almost as if it were aligned with its duelist, roars with renewed strength in its veins from the return of its attack points (2400).

"I'll end this with the Equip Spell card, Thorns of Hatred!" Lily shouts to declare the card she plays on the field.

"Thorn of Hatred gives my Black Rose Dragon 600 extra attack points. More than enough to punish your arrogant Elemental Hero Neos and finish you off," Lily explains as the thorns take form all across Black Rose Dragon's body and across all her thousands of vines.

"Let me show you the full extent of my hatred!" Lily wailed at the top of her lungs for all to see. "Black Rose Dragon attack Elemental Hero Neos with Hate Rose Whip!"

"Elemental Hero Neos will endure all of your hatred with Wrath of Neos!" The Masked Duelist shouts back to the girl, commanding his monster to do battle.

Black Rose Dragon reaches out with her massive thorn vines that hide under her petals to the defending monster. Elemental Hero Neos rises to the occasion by flying up to meet the stronger monster head on in combat.

"I will now reach your heart with the trap card Mirror Gate!" The Masked Duelist reveals right before the two monsters reach. "This trap card has us switch monsters and then continue the battle."

Lily's eyes widen with shock as she watches the scene before her unfold. Both monsters suddenly stop mid attack as if time itself has halted. Then they turn into light energy that blinds the dueling field for a second. The next second the monsters are switched, with Black Rose Dragon on the Masked Duelist field and Elemental Hero Neos on Lily's. Time resumes its normal pace and so do the monsters that enter combat. Elemental Hero Neos is whipped from almost every direction from Black Rose Dragon's vicious thorns but refuses to fall to the ground.

Lily falls to her knees while her body and spirit lose strength from her life points reaching zero (0 = 150 + 2500 – 3000).

"The Masked Duelist is the winner of the first match!"

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*** Card of the Week ***

Mirror Gate

Normal Trap Card

Activate only when your opponent's monster declares an attack targeting a face up "Elemental Hero" monster you control. Switch control of the opponent's attacking monster with the targeted monster you control, then calculate damage. Control of those monsters switches during back during the End Phase of this turn.

DP06-EN022 –C

TAEV-EN063 –SR/UtR

Mirror Gate isn't a card about destruction or control. Mirror Gate doesn't destroy opposing monsters as well as Sakuretsu Armor and doesn't deal direct damage as well as Magic Cylinder, but that is alright because Mirror Gate isn't about either of those things. Mirror Gate is about connection. Mirror Gate lets the two opposing players switch monsters if only for one insignificant Damage Step. It lets two players have their roles switched. They are given the chance to see from each others perspective. It is only when they can see from each others perspective that they can truly begin to relate to each other. It won't destroy the walls around people's hearts and it can't put out the flames of hatred that set out to consume their souls, but it does begin the process of healing.

Mirror Gate gets the Card of the Week for connecting the hearts and souls of two very different children, if only for one small moment.

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AN: thank you to everyone who read the duel. please send me a review so i can make edits and changes.


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